Gender Roulette
by seta souji
Summary: After a certain tennis prodigy got his U-17 invitation, his flight back to Japan gets delayed. Thinking she could do him a favor, Sakuno disguises herself and goes to the U-17 selection camp in Ryoma's place (only until he arrives). Who is she kidding? She'll be lucky if she will even survive before Ryoma-kun shows up! Contains Spoilers.
1. Welcome to Under 17 Selection Camp

Sakuno stood beside her grandmother, bidding farewell to her favorite sempai-tachi. The Seigaku regulars have the privilege to train at the top most prestigious Tennis training camp in Japan. As a Seigaku student, Sakuno felt somehow proud that they were her upperclassmen. It was a sad that they would be away for the rest of the summer, it will feel somewhat lonely without them around. The first-year has grown attached to her senpai-tachi and since most of them are going off to High school, it was a shame that they could not spend a bit of their summer together.

She smiled sadly, looking down at her shoes.

"Sakuno-chan, buck up. If you give us that face we wouldn't want to go." A certain blue-eyed tensai spoke teasingly, snapping Sakuno's attention to him.

"O-Oh, I'm sorry sempai!"

Fuji chuckled. "I was just kidding Sakuno-chan."

Tezuka's mouth turn into a firm line, a bit agitated by the tensai's teasing on their coach's granddaughter. "We should be leaving soon."

Ryuzaki-sensei laughed and pat her mahogany-haired granddaughter's head. "Right you are Tezuka. Has anyone forgotten anything?" She looked at the line of regulars and received a bunch of no's from them.

"Wait. Is Ochibi going to come? Maybe he got an invitation too!"

"Ah. I'm sure he did…I don't think he would reach Japan in time though…let's give him a call," Ryuzaki-sensei said thoughtfully as she reached for her phone and dials the boy's number. The group of regulars including the lone girl waits anxiously for an answer.

At the corner of Momoshiro's eye, he caught Sakuno's worried expression. The 2nd year grinned, deciding to poke fun at Sakuno and her cute little crush on their little brat later.

"Ah! Ryoma! Are you still in America…hm…I see…That is very disappointing…" The Coach droned on. From the conversation at hand, it looks like Ryoma won't be coming back anytime soon. "Obaa-chan?" Sakuno tugged on her grandmother's sleeve. The Couch sighed then hanged up her phone, starring straight at the regulars.

"Ryoma's flight got delayed due to damage on one of the wings. He's currently in Hawaii and it will take a few weeks for him to get here. Chances are, he'll give up and head back to New York."

Most of the Regular's eyes widen in surprise. That wasn't fair at all!

Momoshiro clenched and unclenched his fist. Fucking technical errors, holding back their precious friend. Kaidou hissed angrily, glaring at the ground below his feet. Eiji looked like a kicked puppy, which made it seem worse since the redhead is always happy-go-lucky and always radiate sunshine and happiness. Oishi sympathized with his friends' feelings like the mother hen of the group that he is, saying reassuring things all the while. Kawamura helped Oishi the consoling although feeling bad about the situation himself he has to act mature. with Fuji and Tezuka are the only calm ones in the group and were handling the situation pretty well.

Sakuno chewed on her lower lip. She doesn't want the person she admired to miss out on such an amazing training program. "If only I can do something…" She thought aloud. All heads turn to the mahogany-haired girl. Sakuno realizing she spoke aloud quickly covered her mouth, blushing in embarrassment.

Inui had a sudden brainstorm from the young Ryuzaki's words. His glasses glint with mischievousness.

"Perhaps you can Ryuzaki-san…It's a longshot and we'll need everyone's help to cover it but…"

Everyone stared at Inui, disliking the devious smile forming on the data specialist's lips.

**—**

******—**

**Gender Roulette**

**—**

******—**

"…T-This is never going to work…" Sakuno sobbed. She had just gotten her hair chopped off and she is very, VERY upset. The length of her hair is cut somewhat the same height as Ryoma's, only a bit longer because they empathized with cutting off a girl's hair to which she took years to grow out. Ryuzaki-sensei packed the most boyish clothes in Sakuno's closet into a duffle bag - luckily, they lived only a block across from the school - while the regulars worked on Sakuno's look. They gave her a spare Regular jacket and a cap. She's the same height as Echizen and she looks just like him so long as she keeps the cap on and looked no one in the eye.

Although upset, she genuinely did want to help Ryoma. Maybe the cut won't be too bad, her head felt lighter and hair won't get in the way whenever she ran around. Sakuno sighed, trying to find a sliver lining.

The Regulars (and Sakuno) got on the charter bus once everything is ready. The regulars sat around Sakuno, reassuring her it would be all right. They practiced 'Ryoma-lines' and 'Ryoma-behavior' with her until she feels confident enough to fill the roll as Echizen Ryoma - well mostly until she stops stuttering and blushing whenever she rehearsed Ryoma-kun's cocky lines.

"Echizen Ryoma doppelganger: 43.5% perfect. Acting skills, chances of fooling others 37%. Tennis skills, chances of fooling others are…0.1%."

Sakuno hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry… Horio-kun might have been a bit of a better option than me…" Grrr why wasn't he here when he could've been useful for a change?! Eiji grinned, rubbing his kouhai's back tenderly. "Don't mind! Don't mind! You've been training with the girl's team a lot, nya?"

Sakuno smiled at Eiji's efforts to cheer her up. "Yes… the captain says my stamina is almost as high as a Regular's a-and I might have a chance for a Regular spot next year if I practice my heart out during the summer," She spoke softly, gaining some confidence. Tezuka smiled slightly and pat the mahogany-haired girl's head affectionately. "Good job."

Fuji beamed, revealing his stunning blue eyes. "That's great Sakuno-chan. How old was your data on her Inui?"

"…I haven't updated it since the beginning of the school year." Inui coughed into his fist, receiving boo's from Eiji and Momo.

Kaidou shook his head in disapproval at Inui's assumption that Sakuno's skills would stay poor.

Kawamura laughed lightheartedly at Inui's mistake.

The only girl in the bus giggled. Just an hour ago, she was sad about her senpai-tachi leaving and now she can spend a few extra days with them. The only downside was her hair…she'll get over it though. Some things are more precious than hair, like her friendship between the Regulars.

"About dorm room arrangement… does anyone know if we can well…pick our roommates?" Momoshiro asked nervously. Most of the regulars took side-glances at Sakuno causing her cheeks to pinken.

"I'm sure we can swap rooms if we don't get to pick," Fuji spoke up. "And I volunteer to room with Saku-"

"I'll do it." Tezuka's eyes narrowed toward Fuji's direction. "Kikumaru and I will room with Ryuzaki." Everyone silently agreed with Tezuka's arrangement with the roommate option. Tezuka is too much of a prude to do anything devious to Ryuzaki and Eiji is too childish.

Inui jolt down ingenious plans in that notebook of his.

******—**

**********—**

Tezuka stayed close to Sakuno the whole time as the Seigaku regulars walked down the path to the training camp location. The Regulars thought it would be best if someone stood in front of her to make less attention drawn towards the girl. A protective streak began to hit the Captain when he realized Sakuno will be trapped in a whole camp filled with men. He was beginning to regret his decision to go along with the plan. He thoughtlessly went with it with only Echizen's training in mind and not Sakuno's welfare.

"Whoa…this place looks amazing!" The Regulars gawked at the high tech looking camp. It looked like a resort gym! Absolutely magnificent!

Sakuno gawked at her surroundings in awe. She just realized that she will be training at the most advance and prestigious Tennis training camp in Japan! If her sempai-tachi on the girl's team knew about this, they would be so jealous!

"W-Wow…"

Fuji nudged at Sakuno's shoulder. "Ahem, _Echizen_. Be a bit more unimpressed." The tensai spoke barely above a whisper.

"Oh…right. Um, Hn." Sakuno shrugged in fake indifference. Eiji giggled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "That was really cute 'Ochibi'!" He winked, grinning widely. Sakuno would have smiled in return if she were herself.

"Hey it's Seigaku!"

"UWAH! Koshimae's here!"

Everyone including Tezuka tensed. The Regulars scramble to circle around the Echizen Ryoma doppelganger.

"Shitenhoji…"

Sakuno peeked out behind Tezuka-sempai. She remembered most of the Shitenhoji regulars from their match with Seigaku at the nationals.

"Huh? Where's Koshimae? I just saw him!" The redheaded first-year pouted and bounced around in a frantic. Oh! It's that person who ate her rice ball off the ground! Sakuno thought, a bit happy to see the boy again.

"Calm down Kin-chan. You have plenty of time to have a match with Echizen while we're here." The person wearing bandages on his arm pat his kouhai's head. The light-haired Shitenhoji Captain greeted the Seigaku regulars with a smile. "It's nice to see you again."

The person with shaved head and glasses winked at Kaidou, making him shudder in disgust. "Yes~. Very nice! Though Yuuji and Zaizen-chan aren't here."

The Shitenhoji Regulars and Seigaku Regulars exchange greetings outside the gates of the camp. Feeling a bit confident, Sakuno decided there was enough hiding - she wants to see if her Echizen Ryoma 101 training were worth it! She squeezed out between Fuji-sempai and Tezuka-sempai.

"Koshimae?"

"Yo." Sakuno adjusts her cap downward, hiding her eyes. The Regulars, specifically Eiji, Kaidou, and Momo have panicked looks on their faces.

"Ne, sempai, can we go inside now…? It's stupid just standing outside the gates." Bullets of sweat form on Sakuno's forehead. Her heartbeat ran a mile a minute and she felt as though her heart would pop out of her chest! She's more of a nervous wreck than her sempai-tachi, she's sure!

Wow, Sakuno's acting was almost believable. She even mange to deepen her voice enough on the spot!

"Y-Yeah! Let's go in 'Echizen'!" Momoshiro grabbed the girl's wrist and tugs her inside. He didn't like to manhandle girls, especially not Ryuzaki-chan but he has to treat her the same way as Echizen for this plan to work.

Kintarou blinked. "Hey wait Koshimae let's have a match right now!" The redhead reached his hand out. 'Echizen' waves his hand nonchalantly as a response then disappear in the circle of his friends.

Chitose tilted his head. "Something…is strange about Echizen."

Kin-chan grinned widely. "Really? He seems perfectly normal to me!"

**—**

******—**

A fancy bus with 'Hyotei' written on all sides of the vehicle honked behind the Seigaku regulars. With quick reflexes, they jumped out of the way of the pathway, Tezuka being the closest to Sakuno pulled her away just in time.

"Ah-!" 'Echizen' squeaked in the most unmanly way. Her eyes caught a glimpse of icy blue eyes peering down at the Seigaku team from the bus window with the smuggest expression. Atobe Keigo? Sakuno knit her brows. She remembered speaking with him a few times so she must stay clear of that person in case he would recognize her.

"Damn Hyotei scum almost ran Saku-urk…Ochibi over!" Eiji exclaimed angrily.

"Hmn…" Tezuka frowned. "Let's keep going everyone. 'Echizen' isn't hurt. This just goes to show we won't expect many surprises to come so don't let your guard down."

Sakuno's face fell. Why did the Captain have to say that? Now the mahogany-haired girl felt as though she won't survive before Ryoma-kun comes…

"Wait right there!" Two High schoolers stopped the Seigaku team. Sakuno blinked and stared at the older men curiously. They seem friendly… However, as Tomo-chan said before, she sometimes have a bad judge of character and her naivety makes her think everyone has a good in him or her, which is true! Certain people just don't like to show it.

They smiled. Sakuno somehow senses a hidden meaning behind those smiles, something more devious in them that made Sakuno nervous.

They led the Seigaku regulars to the courts meters away. "In order for you guys to pass through here, you have to knock this can down~." One of the High schoolers set ten empty tennis ball cans down on one side of the court.

"Each person gets ten tries…" They explained, continuing, "After all, if you can't do this sort of thing then you don't belong here."

The Regulars have no problem with the task at hand. They look slightly pale however for the black sheep in their team.

"So try it out brats!"

Everyone got out their tennis rackets. The obvious ones who are worried glanced at Sakuno, hoping they could stall for her. Sakuno took out her racket as well and looked down. Her sempai-tachi probably doesn't think she can do it, that she would need a miracle. Unbeknownst to them; she actually trained this sort of thing in the Girl's tennis club. To control where you want the ball to hit is one of the most important virtue in playing tennis. When she mastered control, her captain started to blindfold her eyes, to which she hasn't mastered quite yet. She isn't that good! Just average.

The Regulars of course blew the test away with amazing results. When it was Tezuka-sempai's turn, Sakuno gets in front of him with her racket and a tennis ball in hand. The Seigaku Regulars, even Tezuka looked alarmed.

"Sakuno…I'll knock out the rest of the cans with one ball, it'll be fine," Tezuka whispered audible enough for only Sakuno to hear.

Sakuno shook her head. "Hn. It's fine buchou."

She took a deep breath then shut her eyes. Each of the regulars have done a remarkable move to knock the can so if she want her cover as Echizen Ryoma to stay, she'll have to master the blindfold control test.

"Oishiii…she closed her eyes…!"

"What is Ryuzaki-chan thinking…?"

"Guys let's believe in Sakuno-chan."

Sakuno could hear the worried whispers behind her. The mahogany-haired girl in disguise tosses the yellowish-green tennis ball into the air then leaps up with only her feet inches above the ground. The ball collide with the top of the racket and Sakuno's eyes quickly snap back open, the ball bounces off the racket and connects to the can, sending it flying towards one of the cans, knocking it flat off it's balance.

She gives herself an 'Echizen' smirk. "Mada mada dane." The Regulars weren't expecting Sakuno to have developed her tennis skills this much. Although controlling with your eyes closed is a cakewalk for anyone of them, Sakuno had hounded her skills in the unexpected way. Maybe after a few days of this camp, she'll be strong enough to become a Regular for the girl's team next year for sure!

Tezuka passed by her, patting her head as he walks by as if it were a pat of acknowledgement.

"My turn…"

The Captain easily knocked the rest of the cans down with only one ball. The High schoolers felt humiliated for underestimating the Middle schoolers.

The rest of the Regulars (and Sakuno) walked to the open courts where everyone else was assembling. In all her life, Sakuno has never seen so many tennis players gathered in one place before! It was a bit overwhelming.

Sakuno fidget as she glanced around, spotting a few familiar faces throughout the crowd. Hyotei, Rikkai Dai, Shitenhoji, and many more middle schools she has seen matches against Seigaku. The team received a few stares and glances. Sakuno couldn't help being paranoid and think they're already onto her! Even with the reassurance from her sempai-tachi, she feels a bit too self-conscious to believe she looks anything like Ryoma-kun.

A Rikkai Regular walks by her, his icy eyes met with her warm honey brown doe orbs. That was Niou Masaharu-san, she think. The only thing she remembered about him is that he was a cunning bastard (as Ryoma-kun would put it). The large jersey droop off her a little, as she began to get lost in thought. She heard a loud announcement but tuned it out.

The sound of the engine of a plane flew above her, dropping tennis balls all over the open courts. The ball lands on her head, snapping her out of cloud nine. "Huh…?" She bent down and picked the one that hit her over the head. "Did someone lose this?" She looked around.

"300 members seem to be a bit too big!"

Balls dropped from the sky like rain falling from the heaven!

Sakuno gasped and covered her head.

"Drop 250 balls and those who cannot obtain one must return home immediately!"

The High schoolers scrambled to get the balls as if it were a feeding frenzy. Sakuno quickly held the tennis ball close to her, feeling lucky that she won't have to join in on the madness of getting a ball.

The mahogany-haired girl glance around to see who has already gotten a ball, from what she saw, all of them were middle schoolers. A few arrogant ones took more than one ball… the nerve of them! Have they no sympathy towards the others? Sakuno frowned. From what she can see, Atobe-san has the most balls gathered. Is that his way of showing off his superiority?

Before she knew it, the High schoolers without any of the fallen tennis balls started to make a ruckus. Sakuno hid behind one of her senpai-tachi, who just happened to be Kaidou-sempai, surprisingly. She knew it wasn't 'in-character' to act this was since she's currently Echizen Ryoma but…these men were large and scary! Their hollering made her think they would hit someone.

A redhead on the Hyotei team caught the High schoolers attention. "The couch did say that if you don't have a ball, you have to leave right?"

"You're too loud Gakuto…"

A raven-haired Rikkai regular - Kirihara Akaya, Sakuno believed was his name - sneered, "HAHAHA! That's too bad! Why don't you go home already?!"

The announcement through the MC broke through the bickering High schoolers without tennis balls.

"Those, who didn't get a ball; please leave immediately."

Sakuno gulped as the High schoolers began to challenge the middle schoolers to a match. She knew Echizen Ryoma would rise up to the challenge even if no one picked him.

"How about the small fry wearing the cap over there?" The snide High schooler pointed toward her. Color immediately drained from her face. She felt anxiousness, nauseated, and sick to her stomach! Regret drenched her. Of course, she couldn't go without playing tennis for the next few days! Moreover, if she did, people would obviously know she isn't Echizen Ryoma!

"M-Mada mada da-" Sakuno stopped mid-sentence as her cap was pulled from her head and a jersey drops atop of her. "You mean me?" That was Fuji-sempai's voice. They were true to their words when they said they would cover for her. Sakuno felt warmth inside her, happy that she could depend on such wonderful friends.

"Tch, Fuji-sempai." Sakuno quickly revert back to her 'Echizen' role. "Do whatever you like." The girl shrugged, walking out of the courts to let Fuji fight the battle, which she would definitely lose. She needed to go take a breather somewhere, where there isn't a crowd of people.

The only girl in the training camp moved a few meters away from the courts and sat underneath the shade of a tree. She was close enough Split Infinitive (consider revising) the amazing matches but far enough for people to not challenge her to a game. Ryoma-kun, please hurry… Sakuno wishfully thought.

"Koshimae! What are you doing? The matches are all the way over there!"

…shit.

Sakuno hid her face beneath the jersey Fuji-sempai left behind. "Hn…"

The redheaded first year crouches down beside her. "Ehh? Are you taking a nap Koshimae?"

That was actually a good idea! Sakuno proceeded in pretending to sleep.

"Koshimaeeeee… let's have a game!"

Sakuno doesn't respond. Ignore it and it will go away.

Kintarou peals the jersey off Sakuno's head then gapped. KOSHIMAE ISN'T KOSHIMAE!

"O-Onigiri-chan?!"

"SSSHHHH!" Sakuno clamped a hand over Kintarou's mouth. "Kintarou-kun please don't tell anyone…please…" She begged, staring into his eyes. "I'll explain later! Just don't tell anyone…"

The Shitenhoji first year blushed then quickly nodded. Sakuno sighed in relief, muttering a thank you. She explained to the Shitenhoji Regular about Ryoma-kun's predicament and how she only wanted help the boy she admired. The Seigaku regulars were in on it too, she told him.

"Whoa, now that you mentioned it your hair is shorter! You still look really cute Onigiri-chan!"

Sakuno giggled. "Thank you Kintarou-kun. I'll only be here for a few days, two weeks at most."

"I want you to stay all summer though!"

"I'll be dead by then!"

The girl slowly stood up. "Well let's go back to watching the matches up close, shall we Kintarou-kun?" The boy nodded enthusiastically. "If you need me, just ask for my help with anything Onigiri-chan!"

"Well…please continue addressing me the same way you call Ryoma-kun."

'Ryoma' and Kintarou talked about various things while they paced back over to the open courts.

"Eh?! Matches are over already? I wanted to play too!" Kintarou whined. They're over already? That means Fuji-sempai's match must be as well.

"Oh! I need my cap back from Fuji-sempai! I'll be right back Kintarou-kun!" Sakuno ran without any idea where her school's regulars were. Without paying attention to her surroundings, her foot gets caught in between the bleachers and she tripped, tumbling onto the open courts where everybody witnessed 'Echizen Ryoma's' impressive display of clumsiness.

Laughter roared. "ECHIZEN YOU ALRIGHT?" There was one snide comment after the other, thinking they were insulting their rival when in reality they were just picking on a pathetically klutzy little girl. Sakuno felt tears form from the corner of her eyes while slowly lifting herself up.

"Are you alright?" Someone offered her a hand. She slowly took it and help the person lift her back up on her feet. Sakuno look to see who was so kind as to help her. She saw curly blond hair, glasses, and a cute face come to her blurred vision.

"What's your name? You're awfully cute for a guy." The blond male smiled.

Sakuno stiffened, looking down as she answered. "Ryu-Er… Echizen Ryoma…"

"Echizen, hm? I'm Irie Kanata from court 3. Be more careful~."

A cold stare casted on her but it quickly disappeared. Sakuno look onward at the taller High schooler with dark hair. "That's Tokugawa; don't mind him he's a bit cold." Irie let go of Sakuno's hand. "I'll see you around~!"

'Echizen' nodded dumbly.

"Hoiii…'ochibi' are you okay? You took a nasty fall earlier."

"I'm fine Kikumaru-sempai. I fall all the time." That only worried them a bit more.

"'Echizen', here." Fuji pulled the cap back on her head. The disguise wouldn't be perfect without it.

**—**

******—**

The coaches of U-17 training camp are giving the Middle schoolers a grand tour of the facilities of the camp. The food were gourmet, dorms were huge, and absolutely everything about the camp was beyond anyone's expectation (with the exception of Atobe. The rich bastard probably live this life style everyday). Even Sakuno went gaga over the new shiny equipment she has no idea what they do. However, she's more interested about what's in the kitchen. If they went out of their way to get such high tech stuff for tennis players, just think of the kitchen utensils! She would like to meet the Chef behind such wonderful foods.

The tour was still going on as Sakuno wandered into the kitchen, thoughtlessly separating from her sempai-tachi. They were too distracted to notice the girl went missing.

"Whoa…" There were probably over twenty chefs in the huge kitchen, prepping for dinner.

"Hey what are you doing in here?" A man, which Sakuno deemed to be the Head Chef, walks over to the fake U-17 player.

Sakuno blushed, embarrassed. "I-I just wanted to tell you I really enjoyed lunch. Are any recipes available for you to give?" The chef stared at her as if she grew two heads. In all his line as an Exclusive Chef of the U-17 training camp, there wasn't ever a tennis player who came down to the kitchen and asked for recipes. "I'm afraid all of our recipes are top secret, young man." The chef patted Sakuno's head, smiling. "But if you'd like, I won't stop you from coming here once in a while to help us prep."

Sakuno's eyes lit up. Finally, she has someplace where she can be herself and not a carbon copy of Ryoma-kun.

"Th-Thank you! I'll try to make it for Breakfast if that is okay?"

The chef pondered for a moment. This boy has more passion for cooking than tennis just by looking into his eyes. "That's fine. Make sure to come down here early." Sakuno nodded excitedly.

"By the way, what is your name?"

"It's um… Echizen Ryoma, desu." She bowed her head, feeling a bit bad for lying to such a respectable chef however she doesn't want her cover blown. The chef nodded in acknowledgement. "Well you should get back to your friends Ryoma. We're still quite busy here."

As the Chef requested Sakuno head out of the kitchen and into the dining hall. There were people surprisingly still in here, gobbling down the rest of the leftovers. Sakuno recognized the yellow jersey immediately, Rikkai Dai Regulars. The strawberry redhead was stuffing his face silly with sweets while Kirihara Akaya complained to him that they should go find the rest of their teams. The redhead paid no mind to his kouhai.

"Sempaiiii… I can just leave you here you know!"

"Go ahead." The redhead sliced himself a piece of cheesecake.

Sakuno lowered her cap and sneaks to the door.

"Hey that Seigaku jersey…Oi Echizen! Don't walk pass us like you don't know who we are you bastard!" Sakuno frozed. That was Kirihara-san talking to her. "Hn. I have to find my sempai-tachi. I don't have free time to laze around like Rikkai-tachi."

Kirihara fumed. "Why you brat!" The Rikkai ace jumps over the table and grabs a fistful of Sakuno's jacket, glaring down at her with furious forest-green eyes. The assaulted girl's eyes widen, forgetting that Kirihara had a violent streak. "How about you take that back or I give you a knuckle sandwich!"

"I-Itai…" Sakuno whimpered.

The redheaded regular stood up. "Hey that's enough Akaya!" The senior scolded his junior.

Kirihara smirked mockingly. "Hah. You're not so tough- eh?" A blush rises up to the Rikkai regular's cheeks and his heart quicken in pace. Panicking, he roughly shoves 'Echizen' away. "Tch…" What the heck was wrong with him? His body never reacted this way towards a tennis rival before. He felt…weird.

Sakuno chews on her lower lip, thankful that the other Rikkai Regular told Kirihara-san to knock it off.

"I'll be off now." 'Echizen' adjusted his cap then quickly turn away so she can get the hell out of here! An arm goes around Sakuno's shoulder, stopping her off her tracks. "Hold on, since you're looking for your teammates and we're looking for ours, lets find them together, ne?" The redhead suggested with a friendly smile. Kirihara stiffened up and turn his head to the side. "Tch, whatever Marui-sempai."

Sakuno inwardly grimaced. "Whatever."

"Alright then! I think we should try to find them at the dormitory. They must be settling in or something."

"That's actually a pretty good idea sempai."

"Hm~ Praise me more, I'm a genius."

As the Rikkai Regulars lead the way to the dorms, Kirihara kept taking side-glances at 'Echizen'. He couldn't tell what it was but there was something different about Echizen, almost like he was a different person… Well, he and Echizen don't hang out and have only seen each other during matches between their schools so it was probably just his imagination. Kirihara nodded to himself in confirmation. Yeah, there wasn't anything weird about Echizen and certainly not anything weird about how he felt toward the Seigaku brat.

"Marui! Kirihara!"

Three heads turn to a scowling Sanada.

"Where were you two? Straying from the group on the first day I-"

Sakuno never liked it whenever people get scolded so she cut in. "It was my fault. Excuse them Sanada-san." It wasn't like Sanada could punish her so she took the blame in Kirihara and Marui's place.

"…-san?"

It was apparently more surprising to see Echizen show respect rather than covering for others.

The fake U-17 player kept her head ducked down. "Hn." She chose to ignore her mistake. "Have you seen my sempai-tachi, Sanada?"

"…Oh right. They were looking for you Echizen," Sanada stated, eyeing the cap-wearing boy oddly. "They're right down the hall."

'Echizen' said a quick thank you as she passes the Rikkai Regulars.

Sanada stared at Echizen Ryoma's retreating back suspiciously while Kirihara looked onward with mild affection then panicked when he realized his face was getting red again. Marui doesn't pay any mind to Echizen's strange behavior and just blows a bubble gum.

"I'm still a bit hungry."

**—**

******—**

Tooyama Kintarou was bouncing excitedly. When asked why he was more hyper than usual, Kintarou told his teammates that it was a secret! To be honest, Kintarou never kept secrets before. No one trusted him enough since he was such a blabbermouth. Nevertheless, his all time crush, the beautiful onigiri-chan relied on him to keep her secret. It was such a selfless deed she's doing for Koshimae! Kintarou sighed dreamily, letting his mind wander to the recently short-haired mahogany colored girl.

"Have you seen her anywhere Kikumaru? Search the corridors again!"

Kintarou's thought bubble popped from the familiar voice of the Seigaku team Captain.

"Hoi… Sakuno-chan must be so lost and frightened!" The Seigaku Acrobatic sobbed in a whine. "Oishiiii!"

"Let's not give up just yet. She's only been missing for less than an hour Eiji…" The mother hen of Seigaku tries to reassure his friend.

"Onigiri-chan is missing?" Kintarou stared at the Regulars with a wide expression.

"Sempai-tachi, Kintarou-kun!"

On cue, Sakuno came running towards them. Relief came to the Regulars. Thank God she's safe! The faculties are huge and what surrounds the camp was a forest that reaches onward for miles and miles. Imagine if someone with as horrible sense in direction as Ryuzaki Sakuno getting lost in such a place!

"Sakuno-chawn!" Eiji attached himself to the girl and sobbed into her shoulder. "A-Ah…sempai…" Sakuno patted her sempai's back. Tezuka although happy that she's safe and sound, has a frown fixed on his face. He'll have to scold the girl later!

Kintarou took this chance to join in on the hug with a huge grin on his face.

Oishi seemed to be the only one who noticed that Kintarou already knows Ryuzaki-san isn't Echizen… "Um…does Tooyama know…?"

"Ah! Y-Yes…he found out but he won't tell anyone," Sakuno explained, staggering a little from the two redheads' weight. "Ne, Kintarou-kun?"

"Yup! I think it's cool!"

Tezuka feels a migraine coming on. "I'll be in my room. You're rooming with us just as we planned, by the way Ryuzaki-san."

**—**

******—**

Eiji showed one of his favorite kouhais to the room they would be sharing with Tezuka after a well-deserved rest. Everyone was a bit exhausted from the ride over to the camp, especially Ryuzaki Sakuno.

She just wanted to take a hot bath then lay sprawled in bed. However, that isn't exactly an option when she has two male roommates.

Will she be able to survive a few days of this harsh training camp? Sakuno will have to put all of her mind and effort into it to make it out alive.

**—**

**note: i thought this story would be original so i just had to write it! the pairings in this story isn't definite just yet.**

**to anonymous reviewer (johanna): sdfghjki; well this is embarrassing! i forgot Kawamura... he's such a character that blends into the background so he never crossed my mind. :( I'll rewrite this chapter and add him in another time.**


	2. The Pierrot & Another Ice Prince

_Echizen is about to serve the ball. Green eyes analyzed the boy on the other side of the court movement's carefully, not letting his guard down for a single moment. He's up against the boy who had beaten Yukimura-buchou and claimed National cup for Seigaku after all. The Seigaku brat sure is taking his time serving, and Kirihara is growing impatient. The raven-haired boy growled, "Oi Echizen hurry it up! Are you stalling?" The cap-wearing boy flinched, slowly lifting his head up and gazes at his opponent with teary honey-brown due eyes with hues of red to them._

"_K-Kirihara…sumimasen deshita," He muttered while rubbing his glossy eyes. _

_Kirihara's whole body suddenly become rigged. What the heck? Since when did Echizen cry and whimper? …And how come he finds it…cute? …WAIT. WHAT? CUTE? NO…HELL NO. Echizen is NOT cute. Sickeningly girly, yeah! That's the perfect word for it. _

"_Kirihara…? Are you okay? You're really red…" Echizen dropped the racket and ball out of his hands and proceed to walk over to him, climbing pass the net and stood in front of him. Kirihara quickly took a few paces back. What is he so afraid of? Surely not by Echizen of course! The brat is just really weirding the shit him out! W-With those adorable signals the brat has been sending him, the girlish swagger, the innocence that brim from his eyes, his petite form - shit, shit, shit Kirihara has to stop right there! What the hell is he thinking about?!_

"_Kirihara…?" Fuck. While he was busy (totally) not admiring Echizen, the boy cornered him. Kirihara has his back pressed firmly against a wall. He gulps. "Back off." Kirihara added harsh undertones to demand and glared at the boy in front of him._

_Echizen recoils back, hurt by Kirihara's harshness. "Mn…" He adjusts his cap, pulling it down to cover his eyes. _

"_Tch. Y-You and your dumb hat," Kirihara spouted childishly and roughly rips the cap from Echizen's head. Bright Mahogany hair came to his vision instead of dark green._

"_Kirihara-san…"_

"…_Echizen?" Without much control over his own body, he draws closer to the timid boy, cupping the other's cheeks and met his lips on the boy's sweet soft ones. The boy moaned in a strangely girly voice. Excitement struck him as he crushes his lips against the other boy's. His hand made its way to Echizen's middle, slowly lowering it underneath the Seigaku brat's shirt rubbing his hand against surprisingly soft, flushed skin._

"…_Kirihara-san…" _

"**GYAAAAAAAAAAH-!**"

On the first night at the U-17 selection training camp, an estimate of half the tennis players asleep inside the dormitory were rudely greeted by a wail from a sweaty, mortified Kirihara Akaya who is sporting a morning wood.

**—**

******—**

The Pierrot & Another Ice Prince

**—**

******—**

Sakuno got up early morning (around 4:30) while both of her sempai are still asleep. She predicted she'll be doing this often since it's embarrassing to take a shower while they are awake. It's mostly fine, Sakuno usually woke up before the sun rose to make bentos for the regulars a few times a day. After the shower, she dresses into casual khaki capris, a plain shirt, and her cap. Taking a short glance at the usual hyperactive redhead, the girl giggled at the sight of him hugging the giant teddy bear the teen brought with him then snuck out of the room. With consideration in mind, she tiptoed to the dorm entrance so she wouldn't disturb the others who are still asleep.

Her pace quickened once she noticed she is nearly out of the dorm area. Walking pass the corridors which lead to the gym, Sakuno noticed there was a familiar figure on the treadmill. She squinted her eyes, trying to make out who the person is for a moment but her sleep deprived brain couldn't decipher who the figure is so she gave up. The kitchen is on the other end of the corridor so she choose to let the person be. She paces past the Gym, heading directly to the kitchen so she could help prepare breakfast like she promised the head chef she would yesterday.

"Excuse me, sorry for the intrusion…" The boy in disguise pushed the kitchen door open and enter. She meekly glanced around for the head chef, feeling out of place in the kitchen. Although Sakuno considered herself more of a cook than a tennis player, she felt as though she was intruding the air around the kitchen. She presumed this is the small price to pay after all, she isn't supposed to be herself in this camp.

"Ah, Ryoma! You made it!" The voice of the Chef made Sakuno perk up. "We were running low on staff. What luck that we have another helping hand!" Another? Those words didn't seem to pass Sakuno. Who else would help out in the kitchen?

The elder Chef smiled warmly. "Kanata-kun could you please come here for a second?" He waves over a man working on making batches of pancakes. "Hm~?" A strawberry blond haired male turns his head to Sakuno and the Chef's direction. His amber eyes land on the young middle schooler. Oh! It's that awfully cute boy from yesterday!

"You're…Echizen-kun, am I right? Shouldn't little boys be asleep at this hour?" The 3rd court leader leaned down to Sakuno's level and continue, "After all, you should know your body won't grow if you deprive yourself of sleep." He smiled sweetly. Her face turns pick, embarrassed by the high schooler's comment.

The Head Chef laughed heartedly. "Ryoma here wants to sleep out in the kitchen. I'll leave him to you Kanata-kun!" With that, the Chef left the two U-17 candidates.

"W-Wait Chef-san…" Sakuno reached out but the man is already gone.

Irie placed a hand on Sakuno's shoulder, moving in close to her ear as he spoke softly, "We should hurry with lunch Echizen-kun. Breakfast starts in an hour and you should know how much most sportsman consume their food." Indeed she did, have this knowledge from personal experience with the Seigaku regulars. With a light nod, Sakuno asked what Irie-san would like for her to do. He put her in charge of making waffles, simple enough. The waffle iron machine is doing most of the work anyway, she just had to time it right so the batter wouldn't burn.

However it seems Irie-san doesn't have the luck Sakuno is having with food. He kept spilling puddles the pancake batter on the floor and the shapes of his cooked pancakes aren't consistent. Sakuno could safely assume that the elder U-17 player wasn't an experienced cook.

"You're doing a superb job Echizen-kun. Do you have experience with cooking?"

Sakuno nodded gently as she peeled a perfectly crisp waffle from the iron. "S-Somewhat. I often cook meals at home and for my sempai-tachi."

"You'd make a perfect wife, Echizen-kun~!" Irie hummed cheerfully without a care in the world while the younger 'male' reacts in utter horror, accidentally shutting the heated waffle iron on her fingers. Sakuno yelped in pain, quickly yanking her hand out of the machine. Tears leak on the corner of her eyes. "E-Echizen-kun…! Quickly run it over water!" The elder male pulled her towards the sink and turns on the faucet, taking the younger's hand to run it under water, making it twitch in contact with the coolness of the water. Sakuno let out a low hiss of pain when her brunt skin hit the cold running water. She bit her bottom lip, trying to stop herself from crying. She has to act like tough! Tough like Ryoma-kun.

"Are you alright Echizen-kun?" The blond looked at her with concern. Sakuno saw guilt in his eyes. Did he think this is his fault? Sakuno laughed off her pain and strain a smile. "I-I'm okay! Let's get back to work Irie-san." She faked her charisma.

Irie returned the smile. "Alright. How about we switch? I wouldn't want the waffle iron to attack your delicate fingers again Echizen-kun, yeah?" How thoughtful, Sakuno thought, touched by Irie's kindness.

"U-Um okay."

The fake U-17 candidate and the older blond swap jobs. It was nearly time for breakfast but both of them narrowly managed to push enough food in time. The Head Chef came around the corner to check the portions the tennis players made. By his eyes, the helpers can tell he's scrutinizing the inconsistent pancakes that are deformed in odd shapes. "...I wouldn't serve those if we were at a restaurant but since I doubt teenage boys would care about appearance so you're lucky Ryoma."

Sakuno's eyes widen. She didn't make most of these though! They were made by…

The mahogany haired girl's eyes wander to Irie expecting him to correct the Chef. He was just smiling silently. "Excellent job as always Kanata-kun!" Excellent? As always? Wasn't Irie-san a beginner? Realization struck Sakuno harshly and her fists clench. She wanted to say something but she just couldn't - her lips were pursed together tightly, no words coming out of her mouth. She was purposefully made a fool of! And here she is, too timid to speak up for herself.

The Chef left with the heavy portions of pancakes and waffles to serve the U-17 tennis players.

Sakuno stood beside Irie wordlessly while clutching her burned hand.

"Echizen-kun."

Sakuno slowly lifts her head, meeting with Irie's gaze. He has a mocking smile on his face and his glasses concealed whatever emotion he has in his eyes.

"Just kidding~." A hollow yet chipper voice belonging to Irie Kanata whispers into her ear. He pat her shoulder before walking away. Sakuno knew what those words meant. His kindness and clumsiness in the kitchen were just an act to get her to let her guard down. Her injury was probably something he had planned as well. A wave of bitterness was left behind when the leader of court 3 left the kitchen. Her left hand is injured - not her dominate hand at least.

"Aa…" How could she have forgotten that Ryoma-kun is left-handed!

With a whimper, she leaves the kitchen. Sakuno doesn't think she'll be coming back again, not if Irie-san is there to sabotage her.

The kitchen is connected to the dining hall and it seems everyone has already gathered to eat breakfast. She can see a few familiar faces from people from different schools - glancing around to find her own schoolmates. Perhaps Kikumaru-sempai could lighten up her mood; secretly he's her favorite sempai. He has a smile that could brighten up a room, a personality you couldn't help but admire, and he's always so nice to her. Kikumaru-sempai probably doesn't know it but he always has a knack for finding her and making her smile whenever she's at her saddest.

Sakuno smiled a little at the fond memory of the acrobatic redhead. A thud sound interrupts her thoughts, sending her attention to someone who has fallen out of his chair. Hm? Is that Kirihara Akaya? He seem to have caught Sakuno staring at him because has now backed up against the wall breaking out in cold sweat and looking frighten as though he saw a ghost. Sakuno tilted her head. Better leave him alone, she thought with a shrug and continues the quest to find her schoolmates.

After much searching in the dinning hall, Sakuno deemed her sempai-tachi weren't having breakfast in there. Where were they? She wonders wistfully, wandering out of the dinning hall and walking back to the dormitory to change into her new U-17 jacket. Walking pass the gym, she bumps into someone who was heading out of the gym. Stumbling backwards about to fall, the person wrapped an arm around her middle to stop her from tumbling.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sakuno squeaked, embarrassed by her clumsiness. She should stop being such a klutz while disguised as Ryoma-kun because sooner or later she'll give Ryoma the reputation of being a total ditz. Ah geez, she is trying to do good for Ryoma, not bad things that would make him hate her!

"…Your hand. It's hurt."

"Hm? O-Oh yeah…" She smiled sheepishly. "I slammed my hand into a waffle iron."

The dark-haired male took a while to respond. "…You're somewhat of an air-head. Well c'mon, I'll take you to the infirmary since you probably don't know where it is." Sakuno stared up at the much taller High schooler who is glistening in sweat, probably from training in the gym. Didn't she see him yesterday? What was his name again? Togu-something.

"Ah…you don't have to um…Togu…Togu-"

"Tokugawa Kazuya. Leader of court 1," He spoke absently as he already began to lead her to the infirmary.

Sakuno quickly followed suit, deciding not to protest against the intimidating male. The Leader of court 1 meant that he is the strongest player within the camp. Sakuno couldn't help but find herself entranced and amazed by Tokugawa-san. "I'm Echizen Ryoma…I'm not assigned a court yet…"

Tokugawa scoff as he stuff his hands into his pockets. "I see you weren't paying attention to how things go around here. You don't get assigned a court, you earn yourself one by defeating others in shuffle matches." Color quickly drained from Sakuno's face. Is he serious!? Sakuno's lucky if she could even return her sempai-tachi serves, but defeating top tennis champions is too daunting for her to handle. She has never even had an official match before!

Noticing the younger's discomfort, Tokugawa reached out to gently pet Sakuno's head. "If you're uncomfortable with it, then you don't belong be here." Sakuno's eyes widen, feeling stung, almost as though she was cut by a knife from the older's words. Her teeth grit together, staring down at her feet as a shadow casts over her eyes. She has to suck it up! If she tried her hardest, maybe just maybe she could win against a few people. _For Ryoma-kun… _

"Mada mada dane." Sakuno's eyes shine with cocky over confidence, the opposite of how she was before. 'Echizen' smirked smugly.

A bit taken back by the sudden change in attitude, Tokugawa raised a brow. "Heh." The older chuckles, letting his hand drop off Sakuno's head. "We're here. The nurse isn't present so let me dress your hand."

Sakuno followed Tokugawa inside. He pat a chair, gesturing her to sit tight while he gets aloe off the shelves for her burn. Sakuno sat silently, eyeing the High schooler while he searched for the medication. She absentmindedly thought of what the male previously said, 'you don't belong here'. He doesn't know how right he exactly is. She chewed on her lower lip as her eyes grow from confident to distant. She knew she didn't below here so why does this recognition of her being truly out of place bother her so much?

"Here it is." Tokugawa returned to Sakuno's side. Kneeling down in front of her, he asked for her hand. Once 'Echizen' lifts 'his' hand, the dark haired male took it and applied aloe to the burn. Sakuno flinches as the cool cream spread on her burn. It felt nice at least so she let herself relax in Tokugawa's care.

"Itai…"

Tokugawa immediately stopped, glancing up at the younger U-17 candidate. "Does it hurt?" She has a solemn look fixed on her face, her mahogany - almost red - tresses fall over her face, hiding her expression of melancholy.

"You're right…"

"Hm?"

"I don't belong here…"

"At least you have the courage to admit it, Echizen." He could at least respect that about the boy.

"But I want to. I want to prove to people…but most of all myself that even underdogs can rise to the top."

His usually serious expression soften. "You should meet Mifune."

"Eh? Who is-"

Tokugawa rised, walking out of the infirmary before Sakuno could finish. "A-Ah wait Tokugawa-san!" She stood up quickly, wanting to thank him for treating her injury before he left. "Thank you for everything Tokugawa-san!" Sakuno smiled a little. Irie-san may have been manipulative but just with that experience alone, she shouldn't assume all High schoolers are bad news, Tokugawa-san is an example of that. He's kind, genuinely kind. Her instincts aren't always right but she can tell the older man is a good person.

The dark haired male stood midway out the door for a moment to listen to the younger 'boy' say 'his' thanks. Hm. Boys Echizen's age has gotten more…feminine.

As strange as it sounds, he can tolerate Echizen at least.

"Aa."

**—**

******—**

It was 6:00 am and she still cannot find her sempai-tachi! Maybe she should start asking around? She has been too nervous to speak to the middle schoolers, afraid she couldn't pass off as Echizen Ryoma so she avoided doing so whenever she can.

The only person in her line of sight is the all glorious Atobe Keigo and his shadow, Kabaji. Oh geez… She doesn't want to talk to him. The man is full of ego and he prefers to himself as 'ore-sama' for pete's sake! Wait- why is he walking towards her? …Shit, he caught her staring.

"Echizen. Were you captivated by ore-sama's beauty?"

This is exactly why she doesn't want to talk to him. She's currently Echizen Ryoma so she doesn't need to act polite towards this monkey. "Kabaji, have you seen any of my sempais?" She choose to ignore the lad with the biggest ego that ever existed in the world.

"Usu."

"Where are they?" A tiny smile made its way to Sakuno's lips, relieved to hear her sempai-tachi may be somewhere around.

"Hey Echizen, were you so blown away by ore-sama's magnificence that you couldn't bare looking at him any longer or else your sexual orientation would swing the other way?"

Sakuno mentally cringed. "Um…I'm talking to Kabaji-san. Please don't interrupt Atobe-san."

Atobe looked as though he had been scrutinized. He stared at Sakuno then to Kabaji, waiting for him to back Atobe up.

"Usu."

"So you're implying that ore-sama is the one being rude Kabaji?"

"…Usu."

"Ore-sama…cannot believe this… he is being stabbed in the back by his most loyal friend!"

Kabaji doesn't respond, shifting awkwardly while Atobe rambled on about his perfection and disloyal companions. No one is really listening to what he has to say though.

"Um…where are my sempai…?" She choose to ignore Atobe's strange, borderline psychotic behavior. "Tsk, you didn't know Momoshiro is having his shuffle match Echizen? Even ore-sama who doesn't even consider the porcupine a friend knows tha- Hey wait Echizen where are you going? Don't you want to soak in more of ore-sama's perfection! You're going the wrong way! Run in reverse Echizen! Towards ore-sama!"

"…She…is gone," Kabaji spoke roughly.

"Humph. Echizen is a lot ruder than usual, ne Kabaji?" Atobe's usually sharp ears didn't catch the 'she' in Kabaji's rough speech.

"Usu." The giant began to agree with the Hyotei captain once again.

Sakuno ran as fast as her legs could take her to the open courts outside the main building, hoping to catch the remaining of Momoshiro-sempai's match. She could see there were a lot of spectators, mostly middle schoolers watching her sempai's match! She squeezes her way to the front of the crowd, unknowingly pushing herself next to the Rikkai Dai's self-proclaimed genius. Marui bursts his bubble as he stumbles aside a little to make room for the Seigaku runt. "Whoa, Echizen. Rather pushy aren't you?"

"Huh?" Oh, it's Marui-san. "Sorry… What's the score, do you know Marui-san?" The Brazilian beside Marui raises his brows, surprised that the usual rude Seigaku first year is addressing Marui respectfully.

"Hm. Well Momoshiro hasn't gotten a single ball pass the guy yet. His wrists are busted up pretty badly," The redhead replied turning his attention back to the game. Marui-san was right, Momoshiro-sempai could hardly even pick up his racket!

"Sempai…"

Marui takes a side glance at the worried first year beside him. …Whoa. How come he never noticed how pretty Echizen looks with sunrays shining down on him until now? The self-proclaimed genius decided to take advantage of 'Echizen's' concern towards Momoshiro and stare at him the entire time until the match ends since the boy is distracted by his sempai's match. He's close enough to him to catch a whiff of 'Echizen's' scent. She strangely smelt like the breakfast's waffles they had an hour ago with a hint of sweet vanilla added to the mix. Interesting combo for the notorious arrogant, cocky first year.

"Sempai! D-Don't be reckless…"

Oh right there was a match going on. Marui let his gaze upon Echizen stay for a little while longer-

"Echizen! Ore-sama has finally found you." The Monkey King point his finger haughtily toward 'Echizen'. Marui spun around, shocked that Atobe came out of nowhere. What if the crazy billionaire caught him fooling around and sniffing Echizen as though he were a piece of one of his delectable cakes? "Atobe? What are you doing here?"

Atobe doesn't give Marui a glance. "Ore-sama understood why you've ran away earlier. You've become meek under ore-sama's presence, ne Kabaji?"

"Usu."

Sakuno felt her eyebrow twitch. Never in her life has she been as annoyed by a person as she is now.

"Go away Atobe-san!" She snaps, shooting Atobe a nasty Echizen Ryoma worthy glare.

Atobe faltered for a mere moment then quickly regain his impossibly perfect stature. "Ah, now you're denying your infatuation towards ore-sama? Such a pity but nevertheless understandable. We'll chat again in the near future Echizen so don't you fret, you'll become captured by ore-sama's brilliance once more. Come Kabaji!"

"Usu!"

The egotistic psychopathic left, laughing manically which causes a lot of stares to his direction. Atobe of course takes this as a compliment, he can even make the same sex's head turn towards his perfect self.

Sakuno groaned in displeasure. She felt bad for snapping at Atobe-san but the feeling washed away as the egotist's laughter droned on in the background. What has Ryoma done to receive such attention from Atobe Keigo? Who is she kidding, what has Ryoma _not _done to receive negative attention? Although Sakuno admires Ryoma-kun greatly, the boy is too self assured and arrogant for his own good.

"…What do you got on Atobe, Echizen? He's loonier than usual." Sakuno heard a pop of a bubblegum beside her. She lower her cap and answered with a simple shrug. She focus back on the tennis game in front of her. The High schooler Momoshiro-sempai is up against has a huge advantage, returning every serve her sempai hit at him. The Black Jack knife or so the High schooler called it was double the power of Momoshiro's Jack knife. Moreover, sempai couldn't possibly win with his wrists jacked up the way they are. Why does he keep trying? He'll put more damage to his wrists! Why doesn't sempai just withdraw from the match?

If it were her, she wouldn't even try.

Sakuno's eyes widen slightly, becoming aware of her own faults. Ah… this is the difference between true U-17 candidates and herself, they would keep trying even if the odds were against them and she would cowardly withdraw from a game if the opponent is obviously more powerful than her. No wonder she's an underdog. Sakuno wants to overcome her fears though, now more than ever. Wishful thinking were easier said then done.

When the painful match was finally over, Momoshiro was sprawled out on the ground mulling over his loss.

She sees Kaidou-sempai pulling Momoshiro-sempai up the take him somewhere, most likely the infirmary it looks like. She could only pray that Momoshiro's hadn't sustain much damage.

"Momoshiro-sempai is incredible."

**—**

******—**

The rest of the day the middle schoolers had to get used to their new training regimen provided by the U-17 coaches.

An hour in and she's already pushing herself to her limit even though they were only doing warm up exercises. Being underneath the blistering heat totally doesn't help at all.

A bottle of cool water dabs against her cheek.

"Eh?" Sakuno stops what she was doing for a moment to look at the person offering her the bottle. A shadow loom over Sakuno's petite form, it was none other than the giant himself, Kabaji.

Sakuno blinked. "For me?" She point to herself.

"Usu."

"Thank…you Kabaji-san."

Kabaji grunted and shook his head. He motions towards Atobe doing racket swings.

Sakuno knitted her brows. "Did Atobe-san tell you to bring me this?"

"Usu." The giant nodded, confirming Sakuno's suspicion. "I…was not supposed to…say that though."

She snickers while twisting the cap open. "Atobe-san is too scared to come give me one himself?" Kabaji nodded again. "Because I yelled at him, huh?" She slowly takes sips of the bottle, quenching her thirst.

"Usu."

"I should apologize. He was just being friendly, ne Kabaji-san?"

"Usu."

The girl pondered for a moment. "Maybe I should give him something in return, too." Kabaji's expression turned slightly confused, hesitantly agreeing.

She fished out a tennis ball from her pocket along with a marker, scribbling something on it. Kabaji became curious about what she's writing on the yellowish-green ball but waits for her to finish. "There. Can you give this to Atobe-san?" The much smaller girl hands the giant the ball. It has a chibi drawing of Atobe's face on it - it's so perfectly accurate, it even has the Hyotei King's beauty mark under the right side of his eye.

"…Cute." Kabaji is unsure of how Atobe would react to such a gift. If Atobe didn't want it, Kabaji would gladly keep it.

**—**

******—**

A hand belonging to a dead drop gorgeous billionaire shook helplessly as he clutch onto the gift 'Echizen Ryoma' gave him.

"A-Atobe! Your nose- it's bleeding!"

"U-Usu!"

A victorious smile sweep across the picture perfect Hyotei King's face. "Heh!"

**—**

******—**

A ridiculously tall coach with his hair pulled back into a ponytail drew the attention of the middle schoolers from their ruthless training on a balcony.

"Good morning, I'm the U-17 selection camp's mental coach. I'm Saito."

How tall is that person?! Sakuno couldn't tell since the man is on a different floor above them but she could probably tell she is half his height!

"2 meters, 16 cm," The data specialists confirm those who were curious.

The man has a satisfied look on his face, complimenting the middle schoolers for surpassing expectations and being so strong. He continued on with telling them how mental training would make them even stronger. Sakuno stared up at the coach curiously, wondering what the man could mean by mental training.

"But first, please make a group of 2 people!" The man announced. Everyone's faces brighten and they quickly pair up with their friends/doubles partners.

"Doubles, hm?"

"Oishi! It's finally time for doubles!"

For Sakuno, doubles were an easier task for her than singles so she has a bit of confidence in herself. However…for anyone who would pair up with her, they would have a handicap. She isn't as good in tennis as the real U-17 candidates.

"Ryuzaki, I'll carry on your weight. Don't worry."

Sakuno whirled around, surprise that Tezuka-sempai volunteered to be her partner. "Sempai… Y-You don't have to but…thank you for your kindness." She bows her head, feeling touched that Tezuka is taking care of her. "I'll do my best to not burden you sempai."

Tezuka's eyes soften. He would reach out to pet Ryuzaki if she weren't Echizen at the moment.

"Is everyone done?"

Sakuno stands side by side next to the Seigaku captain, smiling happily.

"Then… let's start with singles matches. Those who lose are to be eliminated from the program."

That announcement left everyone absolutely shellshock. They took glances at their partners with horrified expressions. Tezuka's face harden. He promised to take care and protect Ryuzaki at all costs… So this is what coach Saitou meant by mental training.

Sakuno's small fists clench tightly. Should she just give up now?

**—**

**note: So you guys tell me which guys you would like to see having 'special' moments with Sakuno. I take every feedback I receive into consideration so don't be shy. And yes...I've characterized Atobe as crackishly crazy :D it's more fun this way. This chapter was very rushed geh I'm not satisfied with it so I might revise it another time.**

special thanks to those who reviewed on the first chapter!** MickymouseMinniemouse**, **johanna (anonymous**), **Ruka-Yuuya**, **Megingjoro (anonymous)**, **coletzq**, **bluesoul18 (anonymous)**,** guest (anonymous)**, **amichan (anonymous)**

replies;

**johanna:** I have now added Kawamura on the previous chapter. Embarrassing to admit but I forgot him :( Please deal with Sakuno's short hair. and...your suggestion - where in the world could they have gotten a green wig in such short notice? Besides I have my reasons for her hair being cut in this story.

**Ruka-Yuuya:** Haha~ Monkey King hasn't noticed anything yet! Sakuno won't be rooming with Tezuka and Eiji for long~ *whistles innocently*

**Megingjoro:** There will be romance, more or less :) This fic is sort of a reverse harem but half of this story will focus on developing Sakuno! I'll try to keep this story as long as I possibly can. Your comment about Kirihara being frickin' confused influenced the opening of this chapter by the way XD!

**Guest:** Oooh~ That is a really great idea Guest. I'll take it into consideration :) I don't want to turn Sakuno into a overpowered mary-sue, however I'd like to make her someone where Echizen could acknowlege as a good player.


	3. Eliminations in the Courts!

A girl with chestnut brown hair pulled up in two pigtails hiked her way up the mountain trail while carrying a fully stuffed duffle bag. She had just taken the bus to the rural mountains to visit her best friend and give her the bag of feminine hygiene necessities along with other things Sakuno should have with her. Osakada Tomoka bit the inside of her mouth, geez, although her best friend is doing a noble deed, she had completely forgotten that she had that time of the month! Tomoka could just picture how embarrassed the fake 17 candidate would be. In all honesty, Tomoka highly doubted the nurse's office inside the camp carries pads.

Her ivory eyes scanned the heavily locked area. "Getting in may be problematic…"

"Hey you're Seigaku's cheerleader!"

Tomoka whirled around after hearing her nickname. "Ah…you're from Yamabuki…?" Two first year students the same age as her stood before her. The ginger haired one seemed to be scoping around the area for a way inside.

The Yamabuki student smiled politely. "I'm Dan Taichi, desu! You're apart of Echizen's cheering squad right?" Tomoka grinned proudly for the recognition. "My name is Osakada Tomoka! I am here for Sa-…Ryoma-sama! I brought his stuff!" Oops, she almost spilled the beans.

"I'm Urayama Shiita! I came to see all of my sempai from Rikkai, de yansu." The Rikkai student introduced himself while leading the way to a small opening through the gates. "Anyway, I found a way in!"

The trio of first years stared at the opening for a short period. Tomoka decided to fearlessly go in first rather than wait for what she officially dubbed them, knuckle headed boys, to go in themselves.

"W-Wait Osakada-san there is security cameras everywhere, desu!"

They sneaked pass the cameras as though they were ninjas. Tomoka took it upon herself to lead this break in operation. She even made Urayama the scapegoat for if they were caught, they would leave the Rikkai first year behind, no use in all of them being tossed out of here after all, and she made Dan carry her duffle bag, insisting that it was the man's job to carry woman's belongings.

"So Dan-kun, why did you come here anyhow?" Tomoka asked while staying alert.

"Oh! I forgot to give Akutsu-sempai a good luck charm I made him, desu!" Dan replied brightly.

Tomoka's eyes sparkled. "You made it for him? Mind of I see?" They are being sidetracked by arts and craft. The trio stopped for the moment while Dan fished out the good luck charm from his pocket.

"It's so nicely crafted, yansu!"

"Very cute Dan-kun!"

Dan rubbed his nose. "Aw shucks, thanks guys-" The boy stopped mid sentence, gawking with wide eyes at a monster-like redheaded Highschooler who lifted a huge bolder above him behind the bushes.

The other two first years met with Dan's gaze and their faces quickly drained of color.

"E-EEEEEEEE!" Tomoka screeched and ran along with the other two as quickly as their legs could take them. They soon reach a fence to where they could see the middle schoolers gathered up as one of the coach explained in detail of if they refuse to play the match against their partner, both parties would be eliminated. "Is…something going on right now?" Tomoka stared with wide expression. Dan and Urayama gave each other worried glances.

**—**

******—**

**Eliminations in the Courts! **

**********—**

******—**

Sakuno's mouth felt dryer than the Sahara Desert. Most of those who were against the mental exercise have already reluctantly started to have their matches. Sakuno wondered if she should even bother with the match, it was already obvious who would win between the Captain of Seigaku whose talents reached national level whereas the other has the strength barely above a beginner. It goes without saying; Tezuka-buchou would completely destroy her.

Giving up without putting up a fight.

Accepting defeat before rising to the top.

Those flaws are what clung to the girl known as Ryuzaki Sakuno, the girl average softhearted girl with no redeeming qualities. It hurts now that she actually started to care about those flaws. Before she didn't acknowledge them, even pretended they weren't the things that are holding her back but now seeing how these weaknesses surfaced so abruptly, it left Sakuno in bewilderment, and without and idea how to change.

Just telling herself to change is not as easy as it sounds.

A timid hand rose to draw the attention of the tall coach. "I-I would like to withdraw from-" A larger hand yanked hers from the air. It gripped onto her hand tightly. Sakuno's gaze quickly snapped to the male beside her. "Sempai…?"

"Fight Ryuzaki." How could he just say that…? Sempai knows he will win even if she did fight… Did he want to humiliate her—No…that is not right. Tezuka-sempai would never want to hurt her intentionally! How could such a thought even pass through her mind? "But the results are already obvious sempai." She insisted, averting eye contact.

"…You're afraid of losing Ryuzaki so you don't give it your all or fight even when you're a proficient player."

Sakuno gritted her teeth. She wished Tezuka didn't try and attempt to understand her! Like he could talk! He's an amazing tennis player and compared to her, he's far out of her reach… "It's already obvious so let it go sempai!" She snapped, leering at the national level tennis star with scorned eyes. Tezuka doesn't faze from Sakuno's out of character behavior. She's frustrated with him and with herself.

Tezuka's expression loomed with disappointment as he calmly raised his hand. "Since Echizen and I both refuse to play against each other, we withdraw from this-"

"N-No wait sempai what are you doing?!" Sakuno couldn't understand what made her sempai want to quit. Why was Tezuka dropping out as well? She questioned in her mind. The male cast his gaze onto the strained girl. "Will you fight with me now, Ryuzaki?" Sakuno flinched after catching sight of his eyes. He…was totally serious about sacrificing his position in this selection program, Sakuno can tell by the intense look in his eyes. Either Sakuno have a match with him or they both will be eliminated.

"Fine…I-I can't let sempai drop out…I cannot understand why you're doing this though…"

As matches went on, Tomoka tried to find her best friend in the crowds of tennis players on the court. From what she can see, Sakuno isn't on the court yet. Have she given up? Tomoka never paid attention to Sakuno's tennis abilities but she doesn't believe her best friend could stand a ghost of a chance against anyone here. The task was too daunting for a 4ft 9in petite girl in size. Urayama focuses on the other matches on the courts, while Dan sensed Tomoka's uneasiness.

"Osakada-san? Should we find where the Seigaku Regulars are having their match, desu?" The boy politely suggested. "Huh? Uh, yeah. I-I want to cheer Ryoma-sama on!" Tomoka quickly paced along the gates. The boys reluctantly followed the pushy girl. She later stopped at her tracks as she saw a cap wearing 'boy' and Tezuka-sempai prepare for their match.

"Eh? Echizen is going to use his right hand, desu?"

"Is he left-handed, yansu?"

Dan answered the Rikkai first year with a nod. "There's a huge bandaid on his left hand, desu. If Echizen can't use his dominate hand then he would have a huge disadvantage against Tezuka!" Tomoka smiled wryly, if only the knuckleheads knew…. Sakuno already had a huge disadvantage even when she _is_ using her dominate hand.

Nervous sweat was already breaking out on Sakuno's face. On the other side of the court is the Seigaku captain in his glory. His expression stern, making the girl to conclude that he is going to play seriously with her. If she didn't do the same, it would lead to the captain quitting right then and there. What kind of cruel joke is she playing against? Sakuno wanted to cry but kept her inner turmoil to herself. Her hands tremble as she gripped her racket firmly, unsure if she is even ready for Tezuka's attack.

The ball bounced up and down on the ground and to Tezuka's palm. He cast a gaze without much expression towards the girl facing him on the other side of the court. Ryuzaki…she may doubt her skills to extremes but he knew better. She didn't know she actually have somewhat of an advantage, she's seen all of his moves, where he has never seen her play or know her playing style. The only thing she lacked is experience under pressure. The ball slipped into the air and Tezuka took a swing at it, giving Ryuzaki a simple power serve she could most likely return just to build up her confidence.

Tomoka focused solely on Sakuno's match. Her best friend looked like a total nervous wreck! Tomoka just wanted to destroy the fence lining, run up to embrace her friend, and protect her from anything and everything. Her fingers gripped onto the fence and she held her breath as Tezuka served the ball, expecting it to score in her sempai's favor and leave Sakuno in a dilemma. Much to the Seigaku's cheerleader's surprise, Sakuno leaped into action and _returned_ it. She looked almost as surprised as Tomoka is.

It was shocking. She knew exactly where the ball would fly just from observing Tezuka-sempai's form. She practiced control for so many months so she could tell where the server would control where the ball hit just by their body movements.

Tezuka smirked in satisfactory. Sakuno's return was weak and full of hesitance so Tezuka could easily hit it. His eyes sharpen as she left herself completely open, leaving the back of the court open when she ran close to the net to return his serve earlier. He'll have to teach her to be more cautious; with more strength and technique, he slammed the ball whizzing pass Ryuzaki, scoring an ace.

Score: 15-0.

"You're open… Don't stay in one place too long." Tezuka fished out another ball from his pocket.

Sakuno gasped then nodded.

The Seigaku Regulars in the sidelines glance at one another.

"Saa… Tezuka is turning this into a teaching lesson. How amusing."

"Hoi…I don't think it is amusing, nya." Eiji clung to his best friend he had recently defeated. "Right Oishiii~? Why is Tezuka forcing Sa-chan to fight with him?"

Oishi laughed halfheartedly. "Where are Inui and Kaidou by the way?"

"I think they were watching Kawamura's match, nya. Then Inui offered Kaidou some of his disgusting juice bleh!" Something tells them Inui and Kaidou won't be participating in their match….

Fuji chuckled at his friends' antics while his eyes focused solely on the match between his captain and Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter. They were rallying with Tezuka occasionally scoring points if Sakuno's returns become weak or if she left herself open. Before, Sakuno's eyes were filled with defeat and contempt towards Tezuka for forcing the match on her but now those furious eyes melted into a small fire of determination. Fuji smiled with understanding. Tezuka wanted to make Sakuno stronger and this was the best way to do so, one would think that someone as timid as Sakuno they would have to teach her gently, but that isn't the case. For her to respond and develop, she needed force.

The score is now 3-0. Sakuno hadn't gotten a ball passed Tezuka even once. She can return most of his balls with the exception of powerful ones, which she is too weak to puncture. Those powerful hits that pierced through the air only occurred when Sakuno left her court open and when she realized this, she jumped to her feet and dash where the ball would hit, only she couldn't return them without struggling and sheer will, which strained her wrists. Sweat poured down her forehead, down to her chin as her breathing ragged, trying desperately to catch her breath. She wanted to get at least one… just one ball pass that wall of defense.

"You're pretty light on your feet," Spoke Tezuka who was hardly breaking a sweat.

Tomoka couldn't believe her eyes. From the looks of it, her best friend was just barely keeping up with Tezuka-buchou. It could be possible that Tezuka was going easy on her poor friend however. She heard the captain comment something about Sakuno being light on her feet. Hm, Sakuno never mentioned this to anyone aside from her, but she had taken ballet for a few years to help with her balance so it could be that Sakuno is unknowingly incorporating ballet into her tennis.

The mental Coach observed Sakuno with skillful eyes. Her stats as Echizen Ryoma were completely off; he could immediately tell this kid wasn't the real deal only seconds within the game. He thought it was interesting so he let it be~. Saitou cackled as he mused over how much more entertaining camp is this year with middle schoolers!

Score: 5-0

As the game dragged on, Sakuno could feel her chest crush against her heart and her lungs burn with agonizing strain, unused to playing for a long period of time and underneath the burning sun no less. Her breathing became irregular and difficult quickly as her vision blurred, she is still determined to get at least one ball pass Tezuka-sempai nevertheless. She reached for a ball in her pocket to serve, she'll just have to grin and bare it!

Tezuka sensed something was wrong with his opponent when she began to struggle to stay on her feet. Her footing became wobbly and her returns weakened greatly, it was almost pitiable to see someone he cared for like this. Tezuka should end this match quickly…he has suspicions that Sakuno could be having a heat stroke. Tezuka analyzed her form, if his prediction were correct, every serve she do will hit the net. This game is over.

"Gah!" The ball connected with the net from Sakuno's serve. She attempted to serve again but the result was the same. Her eyes glisten with frustrated tears, gripping tighter to the racket in her hands she threw another ball into the air, shooting at her opponent's court.

"It's over now Ryu-"

Not only did Sakuno score an ace, the serve she just shot landed in the service box then sizzled and spun in unison passed him with remarkable speed, rendering him unable to return. Tezuka heard a thud on the other side of the court. His eyes darted to the girl who managed to get an ace from him and he quickly dashed to her side.

The other Seigaku regulars rushed in as well. "Give her space!" Tezuka barked.

Eiji's eyes grew teary. "I-It's your fault Sakuno-chan fainted Tezuka! If you didn't force her to have a match with you…"

"Eiji! Watch your mouth!" Oishi scolded his emotional friend.

"But Oishi!"

"Sakuno-chan…was amazing, ne Tezuka?" Fuji calmly poured a bottle of water on a towel, wiping her face with the damp cloth. He smiled. "I think what you did was worth it Tezuka, don't feel bad. It was for Sakuno's sake."

Tezuka stared at his kouhai's peaceful face, saying nothing in response to Fuji.

"I'LL TAKE HER TO THE INFRIMARY!" The redhead of Shitenhoji appeared out of nowhere.

"Eh…?"

Kintarou grabbed and hoisted his crush over his shoulder. "LEAVE HER TO ME! I'll take care of Origiri-chan-I MEAN KOSHIMAE!" And he ran before the Seigaku Regulars could respond. A dark aura emulate from Fuji and Tezuka.

"H-Hoi he kidnapped Sakuno-chan!" Eiji voiced what they were all thinking.

******—**

**********—**

Kintarou set Sakuno on one of the beds in the infirmary. He was watching Sakuno's game the whole time and thought her last move was incredible! When she wakes up, he wants her to teach him that move! A grin came up to Kintarou's face while he stared at the girl's sleeping face.

She's so cute~!

"Excuse me, Tooyama-kun. Please wake up 'Echizen-kun' and follow me."

"Eh? You're…"

******—**

**********—**

The matches ended in a slightly bitter note. The victors had to say goodbye to their partners and friends who lost to them in the elimination matches. There were no sign of Ryuzaki or Kintarou anywhere. Sakuno's roommates took it upon themselves to pack her things for her and hand them to Oishi so she wouldn't forget them.

The Shitenhoji regulars looked concerned that their kouhai hadn't showed up, hell he didn't even participated in a match so ultimately he's getting dropped from the program.

"If Kin-chan comes home, Kenya and I will take good care of him~!" Koharu smiled in attempt to calm the nerves of his worried friends he then got on the bus.

The losers gathered inside the bus, most were angry with themselves for losing against their friends/teammates. The sore rejects soon began to revolt and requested the driver send them back to the camp! Angered by their childishness, Sanada rose from his seat and barked at the immature Regulars. "Stop whining!"

Kawamura calmly closed his eyes, agreeing with Rikkai's vice-captain. "That's right. We lost to our partners fair and square."

"This time…winning was also a bitter one," Oishi added, staring outside the window.

"If you're going to regret it, then go home and train until you get better!" The blonde of Shitenhoji said.

The bus abruptly skidded to a stop and the driver told them to get off. Not understanding the situation, they did as the driver instructed anyway, wandering into the forest until they reached an open area where the mental coach Saitou stood tall with 'Echizen' passed out in his arms and Kintarou by his side pouting at him. It's unfair; he wanted to carry 'Koshimae' when they found out that she wouldn't take up earlier in the infirmary.

"Hello!" The coach smiled then gently set the girl in his arms down. The rejects of the Seigaku team quickly scrambled over to Sakuno's side. "Don't worry, she's okay." Saitou winked as he whispered loud enough for the Seigaku Regulars to hear. "Just a little dehydrated." Oishi sighed, relieved to hear that. He along with the others are surprised to hear Saitou knew that Sakuno really isn't Echizen Ryoma, even more so when the coach decided to conceal it from the drop outs from the other schools.

"Who gives a damn about Echizen? What's going on Saitou-sensei!?" Gakuto demanded.

"Didn't we get kicked out because we lost in our matches?" Jackal questioned.

"You did."

Sakuno stirred, slowly waking up. Eh…? Where is she? Wasn't she having a match with Tezuka-buchou?

"…However, for those who don't want such a gap to exist between them and those who actually won, why don't we see if you can climb this cliff?" He coach referred to the cliff behind him that could be the size of a small mountain. Sakuno's vision cleared once she fully awakened and heard every word the coach said.

"A gap…" She slowly stood up and took in the high summit of the cliff. Without any thought in the matter, she went toward the cliff before anyone else. Before she would hesitate and contemplate for as long as she could before doing risky things but after that match with Tezuka-sempai, something inside her changed a bit. She shouldn't be scared to lose because to grow stronger, every player needed to lose and crawl up to his or her next level.

The Seigaku regulars smiled at their determined little kouhai and followed suit along with Kintarou climbing the same pace as Sakuno so he could chat her up. The Shitenhoji Regulars of course followed Kintarou then the others did the same, climbing up the mountain steadily. Most of the losers who were crawling up the cliff were making total asses of themselves, cursing each other off and saying mocking things towards one another. This caused Sakuno to scrunch her nose, boys where never this rowdy around her…maybe this is what they do when they're not around girls.

"Why the hell are we doing this?" Zaizen asked his sempai. Yuuji and him somehow got dragged along after finding their way to the U-17 camp during the same time when Koharu lost his elimination match. "Just go with the flow," Yuuji replied.

A ledge is drawing near; Sakuno noted as Kintarou helped her up, telling her which way to climb and which path won't have any loose rocks. Soon Oishi-sempai and Momoshiro-sempai came to her vision, they were on the same ledge Sakuno saw above her earlier. "Sempai…?" She crawled up on the ledge, worried about the painful look Momoshiro was sporting.

"Ah…Echizen." Oishi is unsure out to address her since they were kicked out of the camp and coach Saitou was very vague about why they had to climb this cliff, because there are still a chance they'd get back in the camp.

"Momo is…" He took a worried glance at his other kouhai. "Momo it's impossible for you to go any further with your wrists like this…"

"I-I'm fine Oishi-sempai! Please go on ahead! You too Echizen…"

Sakuno chewed on her bottom lip. She didn't want to leave Momoshiro-sempai alone, if it had to be then she'd stay with him, after all, he is one of her biggest inspirations.

Kaidou came hissing. "Hey if you're just going to hightail because of that kind of injury then just go home and regret it there." Momoshiro gritted his teeth and grabbed a fist full of Kaidou's front shirt glaring at his rival with a threatening look. "What the fuck did you just say mamushi?!"

The snake growled. "Go ahead and try it, you fucking coward!"

"Stop it, you two!" Their sempai tried to tear them apart. Sakuno slowly regrets calling Momoshiro-sempai one of her biggest inspirations…. "Che…" Kaidou lowered himself to his knees. "Get on. I'll climb the rest of the way for you."

When she thought she had her sempai-tachi figured out, the always seem to surprise her. She never pictured Kaidou-sempai to be such a kind person before; maybe she got him pegged wrong. Momoshiro quickly declined but after much persisting on Kaidou's part, he caved in. A small smile made its way to Sakuno's lips; although it didn't look like it, Kaidou-sempai and Momoshiro-sempai truly are best friends.

The Regulars of the other schools look onward at Kaidou and Momoshiro with mused expressions.

Oishi is left carrying four duffle bags. One of them being hers. "A-Ah sempai let me help you with that-" Kintarou came out of nowhere swinging on a vine, snatching one of the bags, which was hers. "K-Kintarou-kun!" Kintarou grinned in response then quickly climbed up the cliff like a monkey. Oishi chuckled. "I'm fine with just these now Ryuzaki-chan. Go on ahead."

Sakuno nodded hesitantly, not exactly liking the idea of leaving her sempai the burden of carrying those bags all the way up the cliff. A few minutes in, Sakuno could hear Inui-sempai yelling at Kaidou-sempai to not overdo it. Her eyes quickly darted to her sempai-tachi above her, her face widening with concern.

"They're going to fall!"

Too focused on the 2nd year's dilemma, Sakuno's grip on the cliff loosened. When she realized this, it was too late; her nails dug and clung to the rough surface for dear life, her heart going a mile a minute in anticipation.

An arm went around her securely, pulling her grip on the rocks back as she heard the sound of a snap of a finger. "Oi, Kabaji." The voice sounded like the Monkey King Atobe…but Atobe was not with them. "Carry Momoshiro over your shoulder." Sakuno's eyes sneak upward, catching a yellow jersey. Trailing up even more, she sees her and her sempai-tachi savor was Niou Masaharu, the Trickster of Rikkai Dai. Niou carried the Sakuno on another ledge a few meters above them and set her down. His arm was still around her waist however.

"N-Niou?!" Momoshiro exclaimed as the giant pulled Momoshiro over his shoulder as if he was a bag of potatoes. "Puri." Niou stuck his tongue out childishly.

"Th-That guy became Atobe and made Kabaji move…" A bewildered Rokkuaku Regular expressed.

Koharu swooned over the turn of events, clasping his hands together as he moved closer to see the sweet happenings, to which he unwittingly stepped over the ledge he was standing on.

"Ko-Koharu-!" Yuuji reached out to grab his partner's hand but clumsily tumbled down after Koharu. Luck was on their side since Sanada and Kawamura caught both of them almost immediately. After the troublesome twosome of Shitenhoji were brought to safely, Sanada announced that he wouldn't let a single one of them drop out during this, quickly taking charge of the brigade.

It seemed as though people are working together now instead of mocking each other, Sakuno concluded with a smile. "Th-Thanks for helping me Niou-san. We should get going or we'll be left behind." Niou merely cocked a brow. "You know… you can't trick a trickster, girly." His face lowered to her level, up close and personal. "I knew you weren't Echizen the moment you stepped into camp."

Sakuno didn't know how to respond to this. "U-Um…" She took a step back but he still had a vice-grip on her middle. "…Why didn't you sell me out to the Coaches then?"

The white-haired male smirked. "Why… what's the fun in that? If we weren't kicked out of the camp, I would've used you as blackmail material for Seigaku." Sakuno knitted her brows, frowning. That's horrible! "Didn't like what you hear, did you?" The Trickster let out a low cackle.

"O-Of course not! You can let me go now Niou-san…" Sakuno glowered.

"If only you tell me your real name." His tone became low.

"…Ryuzaki Sakuno."

True to his word, Niou released her. "Well, Sakuno, whatever the hell is waiting for us up here, you have to rely on me to keep your secret from now on." The Trickster began to climb once again, leaving Sakuno to languishly climb behind him. She didn't like what the Rikkai Regular was resorting when he said that… He doesn't seem trustworthy yet he had yet to reveal her secret. What could he possibly want from her? She pondered.

"Whoa, don't step on this rock. It's a little uneasy." The male in front of her pointed out.

Sakuno did as he instructed but remain silent.

It was strange, to have someone she hardly knew guide her up the cliff. When they nearly reached the summit, everyone dropped on a ledge to rest their sore muscles - the cliff looked small when you first see it but climbing it was a different task all together. When Niou reached, the ledge everyone was resting on, he helped pull Sakuno up on it. She was lagging behind, not that anyone aside from Seigaku bothered to pay attention to.

"Need a drink Sakuno? I heard from coach Saitou that you were dehydrated." Niou offered her his water bottle. Sakuno felt her face heat up - where does he get away with addressing her by her first name, with no honorifics no less?! "U-Um…" Now that he mentioned it, she is a bit parched and Kintarou had her bag, glancing around she couldn't see him anywhere. "Thanks…" Sakuno took the bottle, unscrewing the cap she noticed it had been drank out of already. Niou smirked. "Scared that you'd get an indirect kiss, girly?" He rolled his icy blue eyes mockingly. "Childish."

Sakuno felt her cheeks burn red with anger. What a jerk! "I-I'm not scared! Y-You…You…"

"Me?" The smirk turned into a boyish grin that made her stomach do flip-flops. "Shut up…!" No one had ever gotten a rise out of her like this before, could it be that Niou-san is doing this on purpose? Sakuno's brows furrowed. "I-I'll drink all of your water!" She proceeded in doing so, chugging down the water in the most unladylike way. She stored so much water in her mouth that her cheeks were puffed out like a chipmunk.

"PFTAHAHAHAhahaha!" Niou held one arm to his stomach and the other clasping his mouth as he laughed heartedly. "You have no idea how stupid you're making yourself look, girly. Pfft…" Her eyes widen in confusion, quickly downing the water left in her mouth. His eyes lulled toward her, still snickering softly.

"I'll make you pay for that water bottle another time, Sakuno." His eyes glinted with something, which made her heart spark. "I…don't have any money with me." He chuckled at that. "Oh, I'm not talking about money, girly."

"Oi! Niou are you harassing Echizen?!"

Niou was soon chased away by Momoshiro. Sakuno stood alone, confused, embarrassed, flushed, and with a tummy full of water - or were those butterflies fluttering?

******—**

**********—**

"Osakada-san left her bag with us, desu…" Dan frowned.

"Maybe it has her address inside it so we can send it back to her, yansu."

"…WHAT THE HECK IS THIS, DESU?"

"Oh! It's um… those things girls use. I saw it in health class, yansu!"

"Didn't Osakada-san say these were for Echizen though, desu?!"

**********—**

note: I'm sorry to disappoint those who wanted a huge descriptive tennis match between Sakuno and Tezuka. My knowledge in tennis is absolutely horrid ;_; sorry, I don't know most of the rules. In all honesty, I'm losing interest in this fic and this fandom in general. After 6-7 years of sticking by it, it has gotten kinda bland. :( I apologize if you guys start to see slower updates or an incomplete of this story.

**Happy Halloween guys!**

thank you to those who reviewed on the previous chapter! You guys make my day :) **Ruuka-Yuuya**, **Prewritesuccession**, **Kuriko-chan**, **Mistress Hydrangea**, **anon** (anonymous), **Amichan** (anonymous), **johanna** (anonymous)

replies;

**Ruka-Yuuya:** heheh although Irie is cute, I don't think he's a nice guy ;) His baby face is for made deceiving people! Messing with Akaya-kun is too much fun XD! Trust me, I'll continue to make him a running gag.

**Prewritesuccession:** I think I fixed most of it :) Thank you.

**Kuriko-chan:** I'm not good with humor, sadly ;_; I was hoping Kirihara sexual confusion is humourous enough. It's encouraging to hear your support throughout this story ^^

**Mistress Hydrangea:** To answer your question, Sakuno is wearing a cap at all times which hide most of her hair and she doesn't look at anyone (who knows Ryoma) in the eye while speaking with them :) If she forgets to do so, people will only become suspicious but won't find out right away. (the reason behind Kirihara's dream is because he's crushing on Sakuno and he subconsciously knew Echizen IS Sakuno...does that make sense?)

**Amichan:** I'll try my best to give everyone special scenes with Sakuno :) Thank you for your support.

**johanna:** that may be but they couldn't have gotten a wig in short notice. everyone was just about ready to head to the camp, remember?


	4. Winners Aftermath, Losers Hell

Kikumaru Eiji stared intensely at his phone in his hands. The redhead is relaxing alone at the lounging area, his eyes fixed on the screen. What's shown on the phone is a photo of Coach Ryuzaki's granddaughter, Sakuno when she still had beautiful long rosette locks. Eiji consider himself lucky to have such a rare photo of Sakuno since her hair was cut short. Even with short hair, Sakuno looked cute, but he won't be able to see what she originally look like anymore. The photo will suffice for now.

Ever since 'Echizen' was dropped from the program, Eiji found himself looking at Sakuno's picture when he's alone to help coax the reality that he won't see her for a while. Eiji had always considered Sakuno his live teddy bear he can hug whenever he liked at school because she fits perfectly in his arms. Warm, cozy, soft, sweet scented - just like Kumajirou!

"Hm? Kikumaru? Is that your girlfriend? Wow, she's so cute! Lucky!" The third year Regular of Yamabuki snatched the phone out of Kikumaru's hands.

"Hoi give that back-!"

"Hey Kamio-kun! Over here!" Sengoku waved another redhead over. The Fudomine second year looked at the Yamabuki player questionably but came over nevertheless. "Sengoku-san? Kikumaru-san?"

Eiji growled in annoyance. He didn't want to share his photo with more people! As the angry redhead lunged at the ginger, Sengoku swiftly moved over to the side in the brick of time, causing Eiji to collide into a soft couch instead. "Lookie here Kamio-kun! Isn't Kikumaru's girlfriend adorable?" Kamio peeked at the phone with a somewhat bored expression. "Hey…she is pretty cute. Not as much as my Ann-chan!" Kamio pulled out his phone to show the older male the picture of his crush, looking to impress.

"Hmm, she's alright if you like sporty chicks. I like graceful, elegant, beautiful girls with long hair and perhaps am able to occasionally make me a bento, look amazing in a yukata, and be easily pleased, maybe a bit on the shy and reserved side too…"

"…How the hell can you tell all that from a picture?!"

While Kamio and Sengoku were sharing 'pleasantries', Eiji sneaked up behind the person who stole his phone and leaped on his back! "NYAH!"

"GAH-! KIKUMARU?!"

The phone flew out of Sengoku's clutches, skidding on the polished flooring, and catching the eye of a person nearby. "Hm…?" The captain of Shitenhoji scooped the device up in his hands. He blinked at the picture, recognizing the face. She's the pretty young lady Kintarou had his eyes on. Shiraishi have only seen her once, but now having another view on her, he could really admire her childlike charm. If he weren't loyal to his friend, he'd ask Seigaku for her number. His eyes scanned the area for whoever lost their phone only to see Kikumaru climbing on Sengoku's back while Kamio is trying to pull the other redhead off him.

"…" Being quick, Shiraishi sent the picture to his phone while all three of the U-17 redheads were preoccupied. Once finished, he slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Did anyone lose this?" The light-haired male waved the phone around.

"Ah! That's mine!" Eiji jumped off a disoriented Yamabuki player.

Shiraishi smiled, so this is Kin-chan's love rival. "Here you go Kikumaru."

Eiji swiped the phone out of Shiraishi's hand. "Thanks Shiraishi-san, nyah!" He grinned brightly showing his thanks then skipped away before Sengoku wouldn't steal his phone again.

Shiraishi chuckled and left as well, bidding farewell to the redhead and the ginger.

While walking through the corridors, Shiraishi fished out the phone from his pocket then stare at the photo of the girl. He felt guilty for stealing the picture but he couldn't help himself! He's sure such deed won't be harmful in any way. "Hey Shiraishi, what are you looking at?" His friend Chitose hooked an arm around his shoulder, taking a peek into his phone. "Whoa! A girl you're interested in? Isn't that school uniform Seigaku…? Hey doesn't Kin-chan have a crush on a girl from Seigaku?" The tanned male questioned, eyeing his friend suspiciously.

Shiraishi's cheeks turned pink. "Y-Yeah, this is the girl Kin-chan likes. …Don't look at me like that! I'm not going to steal her, our kouhai saw her first."

"Seeing her first doesn't have anything to do with it. When our team goes out to sushi and whoever sees the fatty tuna first, gets to have it, but this is a girl. There is a difference."

"…Chitose I don't even know her." Shiraishi sighed, running his fingers through his light colored hair. "It's fine, I'm just attracted to her. Girls come and go but friendship is everlasting. Kin-chan likes her and that's enough." Chitose's eyes linger on his friend for a moment, and pinched his cheek with a grin. "Heh! I never knew you could be so sappy Shiraishi!"

"C-Chitose-!"

Atobe Keigo walked, gracing floors he's walking on with his presence. He continued on through the corridors connecting to the lounge, seeing two Shitenhoji regulars messing around. Hmph how disgraceful to be behaving so shamefully in ore-sama's presence, Atobe thought. As the Shitenhoji captain flailed his arms, Atobe's sharp stunning blue eyes locked and zoomed in on the picture the light haired male had in his phone.

The blond Hyotei captain stopped in his tracks. "Th-That…" His face is white, and eyes wide in fascination.

"THIS IS MY PRINCESS!" Atobe's exceedingly perfect hand shoved Shiraishi's face as he grasped the phone. Still clutching onto the phone, Shiraishi stared at the lunatic questionably. "Huh?"

"My princess! My spouse! The mother of my children! Ore-sama has finally found you at long last!"

Did Atobe just kiss Shiraishi's phone?

"…You know that isn't a real person, right Atobe? It. Is. A. Phone." Chitose spelt it out for the psychopath; a bit agitated by the way he's treating Shiraishi.

Atobe growled. "Of course ore-sama knows that, you buffoon! Ore-sama has dozens of phones at his disposal and they are much more expensive and better than this cheap commoner's model." He stroked the screen lovingly. "…Ore-sama will be keeping this. Shitenhoji-tachi can bill him for the expenses later."

The Shitenhoji Regulars watched as the Hyotei captain laughed manically as he walked the opposite way from them. As much as they wanted to get the phone back, they didn't want to deal with the high maintenance male more than they already have. Grimacing, they pondered what Atobe meant by what he said about Kin-chan's crush.

"Bwahahaha!"

…Perhaps the reason to why Atobe isn't in an asylum is that his riches persuaded his diagnosis that he is sane.

"I hope he won't do what I think he'd do with that picture…"

"…Oh gross Chitose. Don't make me think of that! That's my phone for God's sake!"

**—**

******—**

**Winners Aftermath, Losers Hell**

**—**

******—**

On the summit what awaiting them were an unexpected sight. The High schoolers that were dropped out on the first day of the U-17 camp were all here… Sakuno's surprised, she thought they all went home, but then again, the winners at camp probably have the same thought about them. Those High shcoolers looked absolutely brunt out…sweaty and exhausted, Sakuno thought with a grimace. What kind of training have they been doing? She glanced at the elderly man with an ugly mug who seemed to be in charge around here. He looked very intimidating at first glance, still intimidating at the second, and third. And forth. And fifth. …It isn't getting any better no matter how much she tried to find something nice about him!

"Welcome to Hell, losers."

What a greeting…

The man had a transfixed scowl on his face while his leer screamed intimidation. "Listen up trash because I won't be repeating myself! I'm Mifune! I'll be coaching all you losers here!" His dark eyes scanned the group of middle schoolers then fell on the shortest and smallest of the bunch, Sakuno. She flinched when she met with his intense gaze. From high-class training to roughing it in the mountains, they have really fallen low.

"Make sure to do everything I tell you, or else I'll throw you off the cliff!"

Yikes. Sakuno kept that noted. She won't be crossing him…he's scarier than Fuji-sempai. Maybe she's tiny enough to shrink into the background, that way she wouldn't have to deal with the wrath of the scary coach's attitude. Anything to not draw attention to herself. Yes, that is the best plan in mind. But…the way he's able to keep these boys in line is incredible. Sakuno immediately held respect for the drunken man. He sort of reminded her of her obaa-chan! Her mood quickly skyrocketed after the thoughts of her grandmother cross her mind. Oh, how she missed her obaa-chan greatly.

Zaizen stared as 'Echizen's' face lightened up and he radiated happiness. The nasty old coach then yelled something that made Echizen recoil from fright but then the boy began to glow vibrantly with happiness again. The heck…? Since when was Seigaku's chibi have such…cute qualities? The Shitenhoji second year continued to stare at the cute first year, unsure of how or why he even bothered. Niou's eyes focus on the second year eyeing Sakuno up until a flamboyant Shitenhoji third year commented on something about it, which freaked the boy out. As much as he would like to stay closer the Echizen wannabe, he made note to stay clear of Ryuzaki Sakuno only when Momoshiro is nearby. By his protectiveness over the girl, one would assume Momoshiro is interested in Sakuno but that isn't the case from what the Trickster could tell. The Seigaku second year looked at the first year with a dotting affection a brother would have toward his baby sister.

Niou's gaze went to his fellow schoolmate Yanagi. The Data specialist of Rikkai must know Ryuzaki Sakuno isn't Echizen by now. Just by Sakuno's movements alone Yanagi must have figured it out, Niou mused. He wouldn't be surprised if Yanagi's impressive data gathering pinpointed who exactly this 'Echizen Ryoma' is – if she is associated with Tennis in any way. By her tennis not-so-impressive-but-still-okay tennis abilities, Niou could presume she was training on the Girl's Tennis Club at Seishun.

The RikkaiDai Trickster eliminated all the idiotic reasons to why Yanagi have yet to spill the beans about Sakuno. Highest possibility is because of the Seigaku's data specialist. They're friends. It's safe to assume Yanagi would later confine in Inui that he knew sooner or later. That just left Jackal and Sanada in their group. Sanada is an idiot when it comes to girls. He doesn't know. Niou is sure. Jackal is smart, he'd find out eventually if he paid attention to Sakuno for a few minutes.

After the introduction, Coach Mifune led them somewhere to change into plain T-shirts and shorts without any explanation as to why they had to change.

Sakuno blushed when the boys surrounding her began to strip. She couldn't help but notice they were very well built… UWAH! She needed to snap out of it! This wasn't the first time she's seen half-naked tennis boys! She had accidentally walked into the boy's dressing room while her sempai-tachi was changing many times before! She didn't need to be embarrassed! Lady luck was on her side, she wore a shirt underneath her tennis uniform so she didn't have to worry about being found out. The mounds on her chest are pretty nonexistent anyway… All the milk she have been drinking had not helped her chest area the slightest bit…

Sulking, Sakuno took off her shirt while recalling the incident last month.

**—**

******—**

_She has gotten lost… in her own school for Pete's sake! She knew she was outside… yes, she's sure she's outside. It was obvious since she could see the clear blue sky above her. But what she couldn't tell is which way was the direction to the Girl's tennis club… _

_Sakuno trained at the tennis club almost daily so why is it now she can't figure out which way she needed to go? Ugh, she blamed her horrendous sense in direction and her occasional mood to space out while she walked._

_Familiar tennis courts soon came to her vision. Her face immediately brightened up. No one was on the courts yet so she's not late! Maybe her luck was changing for once. With a smile fixated on her face, she went to the locker room area. As she took each step closer to the locker room, she could feel that something was strangely off… She couldn't put her finger on what was however. _

_Her hand turned the doorknob to the locker room and she opened it. "Konbanwa, sempai-tachi…." Blood quickly rushed to her face when she looked up and saw half naked tennis boys in nothing but their boxer-briefs. "Eh…"_

"_Eh…" A handful of the boys replied back, staring at the coach's granddaughter with wide eyes. _

"_Ryuzaki, your nose is bleeding," Seigaku's pillar of support, Echizen Ryoma broke the ice, speaking nonchalantly as he put his tennis shirt back on._

"_IT'S TRUE NYAH! RYUZAKI-CHAN ARE YOU OKAY?"_

"_Oh my- Ryuzaki-san tilt your head back!"_

"_Haha, were you that excited to see us Sakuno-chan? Saa…"_

"_BURNING! RYUZAKI-CHAN IS BATHING IN WOMANLY YOUTHFULNESS BABY!"_

"_Iie data…" _

_She was surrounded by many shirtless tennis regulars in a flash of a second; crowding her as they asked if she was well._

"…_Stop crowding her," The captain spoke stoically although feeling agitated about his teammates' immaturity over a girl walking in on them. _

_Ryoma smirked, "You're kind of a pervert Ryuzaki."_

_Sakuno felt the world crumbling around her._

_Why couldn't she just die now to save herself of this embarrassment!_

_**—**_

**—**

"Puri."

Sakuno breath caught in her throat at the sight of the white-haired Rikkai male without his shirt. He stood beside her while nonchalantly removing his clothing. Her heart thumped rapidly in her chest from anticipation. Where on earth did he come from! She didn't remember him coming closer. She held her jersey and shirt against her chest even though there really isn't anything to hide.

"Do you like what you see perchance?"

Oh, fudge. Did he think she was ogling him?

"N-No…" Sakuno stammered pathetically and quickly turned away from the male. He grinned, amused. The Seigaku Regulars were worried about Sakuno changing her clothes but they didn't want to be caught staring. The other Regulars were preoccupied with changing into the clothes Coach Mifune provided them. "Embarrassed again girlie?"

Sakuno frowned. "Of course not! Put on your shirt already! You have nothing to show off Niou-san." This made Niou raise a curious eyebrow. "Hm?"

She quickly got dressed in the plain clothing. "W-Well it's not that impressive…!"

Before he could control it, laughter quickly shot up his throat. WOW. This chick is hilarious! She deliberately admitted she was checking him out without the knowledge of the meaning behind her words! "Pffft…kehahaha-!" Sakuno whirled around when laughter ringed in her ears. Her eyes widen at the sight of Niou snickering in front of her. Her cheeks burned. Have she said or done something embarrassing again? G-Geez this guy! She bit the inside of her mouth, denying the fact that she actually liked his teasing and that his laughter made her stomach feel silly. She is not a masochist! Nope, not her.

Niou's hand draped over the upper half of his face, showing the lazy grin as his laughing gradually stopped.

"Are you done now?" Sakuno's attempt at a glare turned into an angry pout.

Niou peeked at Sakuno between the fingers draping over his eyes. "Just about."

"Then hurry up and put on a shirt!" She shoved her jersey in his chest, no longer wishing to see him flaunt his gorgeous body. …Hold up – Gorgeous? Her mind quickly backtracked. Niou's boyish grin doubled in size as he watched the girl's mind get stuck in a reverie.

While Sakuno's brain is experiencing a meltdown, Niou put on the plain shirt as the girl wanted him to.

The Losers have all changed clothes. They left their jerseys on the railing of the cottage cabin before them. "Anyone got changed? Plain T-shirts are enough for you trash," The man called Mifune spoke. Sakuno's eyes brightened once more from the coach's attitude. He's just like her obaa-chan~! Most of the teenagers didn't take the liking to being called trash.

"Hey who are you to call us trash…!" A boy exclaimed. Ah, that Fuji-sempai's little brother. Fuji Yuuta, she believed.

The youngest Fuji was thoroughly ignored.

They were ordered to dig holes immediately after they changed. Shovels were dumped beneath their feet which the losers glowered at because Coach Mifune didn't have the respect towards them to hand them out instead.

The losers didn't understand why they had to dig holes but reluctantly went along with it; after all if they wanted to fill the gap between them and the winners, they would have to listen to the crazy old coot of a coach.

The coach disappeared somewhere with the High schoolers seconds later. Sakuno shuddered at the thought of what the High schoolers had to do for training. She heard Coach Mifune call out that to High schoolers that they had to climb a waterfall…? Is that even humanly possible? Not even her grandmother made the Seigaku regulars do such extremes! She's dreading the kind of training coach Mifune had in store for them after they finished the tedious hole digging exercise.

"Hey, hey Koshimae!" Kintarou waved the shovel in the air frantically trying to get Sakuno's attention.

"Kintarou-kun? What is it?" She couldn't help but smile from her friend's hyper antics. They may be in for some ruthless training but the redheaded boy can still manage beam vibrantly.

He grinned. "Do you want to compete with me? Whoever digs the deepest hole before ossan comes back wins!" Sakuno laughed nervously, reluctant to agree. Kintarou-kun just wants to have fun. She doesn't want to ruin his fun… so she had to agree.

"Alright Kintarou-kun."

"Yatta!" The readhead threw his arms in the air. Before they could even put their shovels to the ground, Sanada-san spoke up beside them. "We're not playing around, Echizen, Tooyama. Now help us with this hole," He barked out the demand.

Sakuno's shoulders sunk from being lectured, but Sanada-san was right. They should help each other with the hole instead of messing around with shovels. "I'm sorry Sanada-san, it won't happen again," She bowed respectfully then scampered off to her senpai-tachi to help them. Kintarou seemed to have gone back to his group of regulars to help them instead. Although it probably wasn't intentional, it was best that way. Echizen and Tooyama aren't that buddy-buddy so there would be suspicions if the boy stuck with Sakuno the whole time.

"Oh, Ryuzaki-san did you um… get dressed okay?" Oishi whispered to her with awkward concern as he dug his shovel into the ground. Sakuno snickered at the pink tints warming her senpai's cheeks. "Yup, no problem at all." She did the same with her own shovel.

"With all this man power, we should be able to have a 5 meter deep hole within an hour or so," Inui estimated. "9 meters wide in length," Yanagi added in speculation.

She never understood how the data specialists got those numbers and to be honest when the result is accurate, her mind is completely blown.

The digging actually proved to be a great team building exercise. Most of the regulars got out of their school's group and helped each other throughout the digging. Perhaps this was the reason behind that old man's crazy orders. Either way, Sakuno is thoroughly impressed by everyone's cooperating behavior with one another. There wasn't any petty fights or arguments - just a task to fulfill in mind. She felt proud and accomplished in herself as well as her team of losers.

Later Mifune came back to tell them to take their shovels back to the shed.

When they came back, Sakuno witnessed a horrendous sight that could never be washed away from her brain. The old man was taking a leak in the hole they dug.

…It wasn't about teamwork at all. He just needed them to make a piss hole for him!

BASTARD.

**—**

******—**

Sakuno sighed dejectedly. Her precious jersey her sempai-tachi gave her was 5 meters underground… She's starting to dislike this training now that her personal belongings were being tarnished. She was never a materialistic type of person but that jersey was given to her by her friends! She wanted to keep it safe at the very least.

And now they're having a match with the High schoolers. There was an obvious disadvantage in numbers but it seems the middle school regulars weren't concerned with that. If a player misses a ball, they automatically have to leave the court. The team which has the least amount of players on their side of the court loses. Simple enough. However, there was a catch. The team that loses would have to sleep outside in a cave while the winners get to be comfortable staying within the cabin for the nights to come.

Everyone was determined to win. Obviously no one wanted to rough it in the cave.

When the first ball was served by a high schooler, Sakuno put her eyes to work, watching his movements. It wasn't going her way that was for sure so she didn't go after it. Her head turn to where the ball darted and much to her surprise, most of everyone to the side of her went after the ball, resulting in rackets clashing and no one returning the ball! What…What was wrong with these boys? Why is everything a completion with them!

The boys leered at each other but returned to their spots, waiting for another serve.

Thankfully not everyone rushed in like before, however the ball was going in odd angles whenever the ball bounced off the makeshift court. The court wasn't a standard official court but no one expected for something like this to occur. They looked on at the smug high schoolers… they've been playing in this court so it's likely that they're used to it.

Shit.

Eventually a serve went straight to Sakuno. Instead of panicking, she could somehow now grasp her ability to be able to return the ball. It was thanks to Tezuka-sempai's match with her. Her confidence in her tennis grew somewhat. The ball touched her racket but as she motioned to return it, her foot got caught in a small pit on the court. Before she took a tumble, Sakuno quickly volleyed the ball past the net.

She fell flat on her face but it was worth it. None of the high schoolers returned her ball. Her face brightened up when she noticed this. Her, Ryuzaki Sakuno, the klutziest girl to have ever stood in a court had scored a point against High school tennis players.

The Seigaku regulars looked proudly to Sakuno.

"I have enough data to go by now. How about you Renji?"

"Aa, same with me Sadaharu."

Sakuno picked herself up. Apparently just the data specialists are now going to play against the high schoolers or so they insisted. Have they picked up enough data to win though? Once the others step out of the court, they would technically be eliminated from the competition. Although unsure, Sakuno followed as the data specialists say and stepped out of the court to watch. She should have more faith in them. They wouldn't be doing something so risky if they weren't certain of themselves.

Soon, Sakuno's mind was once again blown. How did-… Wow, she gave grown a new respect for data tennis! Although Sakuno speculate from body movements alone as well, they aren't always accurate, not like Inui-senpai and Yanagi-san's tennis! They are amazing! A grin tugged on her lips as the duo eliminated each High schooler on the opposite end of the court one by one.

"You seem awfully surprised, puri." Her head spun to the white-haired regular standing beside her. How long has he been there? "Maybe… I just didn't think data tennis was that amazing until now…" She looked on at the two childhood friends knocking each high schooler out of the court.

Niou chuckled. "I understand where you're coming from. Data tennis doesn't sound fun at first but predicting where your opponent would serve and saying it aloud to get a rise out of them is pretty amusing." Sakuno's eyes widen slightly. She's never thought of it that way… - Not that picking on people would be fun mind you! The way Niou-san described that style makes her feel like the winner would add salt to their opponent's wounds by tripping them up with predictions. It…just wasn't very nice.

So she pinched the older teen's arm.

"Ow! What was that for?" He rubbed his arm, slightly amused by that little sting of surprise.

She looked up at him with a bit of an annoyed look. "Well… if you're already winning then at least be mature enough to be humble about it or else you'd just look like a cocky…sore winner…" Her cheeks turned slightly rosy for being brave enough to say such a thing to the Trickster.

Surprise was shown on his features. His expression slowly warmed into a smile-like-smirk. "Right you are. No one likes a sore winner huh?" His hand made it's way to her head on it's own.

Why is he smiling at her like that? "U-Um…" She quickly yanked his hand away, understanding full well that it was rude but she didn't like this feeling in her chest. It was dreadful! Like her heart was about to explode out of her chest. Ugh. Is this what a heart attack feel like?

She ignored everything and focused back on the match. The lump in her throat prevented her from apologizing but screw politeness! She's dying! He's trying to kill her with those smiles, warm eyes, innocent touches, and moreover his gorgeous body.

The match is coming close. There were only three high schoolers left on the opposite end of the court. She wished Niou-san didn't distract her from the match so she could've seen Inui-sempai and Yanagi-san's spectacular doubles team verses a dozen or more high schoolers. Sakuno seemingly forgotten about her little incident with Niou and cheered a little for those two. It's been a while since she's done any cheering for matches. Because of course she's the one who had been in the courts.

As Yanagi was about to serve a ball coach Mifune stopped him, declaring the high schoolers as the winners. Sakuno's face fell. What? That wasn't fair! They were so close…

When she turned her head to see the other Regulars, her honey doe eyes met with icy blue. Niou-san was watching her the whole time.

Heat made it's way back to her face.

She is sure of it now. He's trying to kill her.

**—**

******—**

"Sadaharu… I should tell you something." The Rikkai Regular set up his sleeping bag beside the Seigaku regular. Inui looked at him with interest. "You can tell me anything Renji."

"I know that girl isn't Echizen," He said bluntly. Inui froze. Well. Darn. He should have realized there was no way they could have fooled his childhood friend. "…Yes. She is Ryuzaki Sakuno, our coach's granddaughter."

Yanagi nodded. "Alright. I won't tell anyone since you're being honest with me."

Inui sighed in relief. "Thank you Renji, I really appreciate that."

**—**

******—**

Fuji Yuuta sighed as he sat on his sleeping bag, watching the rest of the Regulars try to get comfortable in the stone cold cave. He disliked this, being treated like garbage and being called trash. Tch. Was the training truly worth the verbal abuse? His eyes darkened at the reminder of losing to his big brother. Can't he ever win against him for once? Why is there such a huge gap between them? Frustrated, he scratched his head.

"Um, Fuji-san?" A familiar voice called out to him. He turned his attention to the side where Echizen stayed. He made a noise and turn his eyes away from the prodigy. "Erm… About earlier before we dug holes…" 'Echizen' gave him a side glance. "Are you okay?"

…Echizen bothered to remember something like that? He could feel a bit touched if this wasn't Echizen Ryoma who was discussing this with him. "I guess… I just don't like to be treated that way," He muttered, expecting the younger boy to use his catchphrase then smirk smugly at him.

"Oh… Um, I don't like it either but let's do our best and bear with it okay?" 'He' smiled sheepishly to the younger Fuji. "We need everyone; including you to pull us through this… so please don't let it bother you… Fuji-san can talk to me if he ever wants to vent something out," The boy reassured. Yuuta stared at him, shocked that Ryoma would show that much kindness.

A smile slowly tugged up the corner of his lips. "Yeah, thanks Echizen."

He returned the smile that was equally as warm.

Yuuta swore his heart just skipped a beat and shoot up his throat.

Cursing, he quickly grabbed his sleeping bag to find a different spot. This isn't happening. THIS ISN'T HAPPENING. He repeated the mentra in his head until he calmed down.

Sakuno blinked. What just happened? Her brows furrow then she decided to shrug it off, get cozy in her sleeping bag and rest early for the day.

In the middle of the night while she was tossing and turning, unable to sleep restfully in such conditions, she woke up. The first thing that came to her vision when it cleared was messy white-silver hair which fell perfectly against a sleeping face that glowed naturally and beautifully from the moonlight. Her half lidded eyes drooped closed afterwards.

Somehow, she's able to sleep well that night.

Until they were rudely awoken to train at 1am in the morning in the rain.

Hell hath no fury.

**—**

**note:** I apologize for the awfully late update. This chapter is a month overdue :c. I didn't know how to adapt Sakuno in it gahhh... I'm going to write a lot of bullshit in evolving Sakuno's tennis skills since I'm not athletic nor have I ever been committed to a sport. Also, my pal Themy have made wonderful fanart based off this fanfic! They are on her tumblr so if you'd like to see them her tumblr is themyminamino.

I may start on a new MultiSaku fanfiction with a slight supernatural spin soon so please look out for that! It's an adaptation of an anime I'm obsessed with :) And if you like this story, please read and review to 'Repeat What You Said' & 'Paparazzi'. The first one is a fic centered around Niou and Sakuno hijinks filled with unresolved tension (rating to that fic may change to M in later chapters fyi), the second one is a TokuSaku fic for those who are craving wishy-washy cutely shy Sakuno.

I have also revised the previous chapters by the way!

thank you to those who reviewed for the previous chapter! johanna (anonymous), ThemyMinamino, anon (anonymous), kuriko-chan, guest (anonymous), miyu (anonymous), BigBangTOPisVIP, aryaputra, guest no.2 (anonymous), kikumarucat, sweet-lia

replies;

**johanna:** Possibly ;) I'm not going to spoil.

**ThemyMinamino:** Thank you for the sweet comment :) And for all those fanarts you've done! They're amazing ; o ; I feel so freakin' honored you have no idea. Oh and sorry I haven't been replying to your PMs hon. It's lack of motivation to get on this site :c And I know I promised to get this chapter out on the 20th but... I'M SORRY I HAVE NO EXCUSE T_T

**kuriko-chan:** Here's another chapter Kuri-chan. You updating your fic motivated me a bit to continue :)

**miyu:** haha maybe. or maybe it's just the water she drank.

**BigBangTOPisVIP:** Yosh! Our weak darling Sakuno-chan will be fighting against all odds! Thanks for the review!

**aryaputra:** Oh, hi! Boo :( the internet can be frusturating at times *pats*. Fufufu the thought of Ryoma coming back surrounded by admirers is a tempting idea but I think they will feel a difference between Ryoma and Sakuno XD Still tempting though! Consider the idea noted! Wow your review is really motivating :) Thank you so much aryaputra. Speaking of New PoT, I've been waiting for Sakuno to appear since the very beginning when the new manga came out ;_; Full of disappointment! The manga is a sausage fest! It needs a feminine touch. (and the most feminine female in PoT is Sakuno)

**kikumarucat:** Haha thank you c: awkward teenage boys with pads ftw.


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